Guan-Yin is Not Dead
by NuckingFuttsToni
Summary: Mei finds herself on Dean's bed one morning, with him in it. After going to bed the night before in her home over 1600 miles away. She has to tag along with him & his brother until they get her home. Will she be able to survive them or the things they face daily? To top it all off Mei talks with her hands! Will the men of Supernatural have to learn some ASL? Potential OFC pairing.
1. Who is Mei Xinyi? (Revision 11-14-17)

**Chapter 1**

 **Who is Mei Xinyi?**

Mei Xinyi, or Mei-Mei as her friends call her is a 5'1" athletically lean woman of seemingly Asian descent. A whopping 25 years old. Weight; _unmentionable_. Large angled grey eyes; like mirrors always bright and full of expression. An odd color considering her heritage. Her fair frontage framed by black blunt bangs, that nearly covered her eyebrows, and fringes she purposefully kept down on either side of her face. The rest of her long dark hair usually tired or rolled up close to her scalp. The exact length a mystery to almost everyone except herself.

She seems like a relatively happy and cheerful person overall. Which seems sarcastic to say when you realize that she works multiple part-time jobs and was going to school. She _was_ happy though. Her weekdays filled with working at a pet shop, and her family's restaurant; the Szechuan Chinese Kitchen. When she wasn't cramming for school, she was hanging out with her friends. Probably goofing off at a local department store or mall.

Her lighthearted humor had become a contagious trait to her group of friends. A special, bright and genuinely caring person that just seemed to attract people to her. During her high school years, she had been crowned the class clown, remarkable grades and all. She was told she had a gift, or her family had told her anyway, a gift for truly listening to people and getting them what they needed from her. She only knew that she liked to see people happy around her, and did what she could, within reason, to make it happen.

They would say she had a knack for listening to people. She guessed it was because her own words wouldn't get in the way. You see, she's unable to speak. She can scream and groan and make any grunt known to man, even hum to her favorite tunes. But she could not, for the life of her, even to this day, form words with her voice.

Doctors just couldn't explain it. Having studied her since she was a child of about 3 or 4, the prognosis of Alalia Prolongata was given to her. Alalia Prolongata being a disorder that refers to the delay in the development of speaking abilities in children. But later, as she grew older and more examinations were done, her prognosis changed into a diagnosis. A diagnosis of selective mutism. It wasn't an accurate diagnosis because she just didn't have any of the known or common traits associated with it. In truth, she knew they had no idea what was wrong with her.

Because of her inability to speak, she had had to learn sign language from a very young age. It was the easiest and most efficient way for her to communicate. Some of her closest friends had even learned for her sake. Not that they needed to use it themselves. She could hear just fine. Better than most even. Her hearing was so well tuned in fact, that she picked up on many little things people missed. Subtle sounds most would just ignore.

Life wasn't all great though. There were some who chose to see her as disabled of course. She saw herself very differently though. She had worked hard to turn her supposed disability into something unique and thoroughly entertaining. She had sharpened what she could do verbally into something she had grown proud of. Sound effects. She was a master at it, according to those who experienced it firsthand. From the sounds of a person biting into an apple to a zipper being zipped and anything in-between. If she studied it long enough, she would probably be able to mimic it.

She loved pulling pranks on unsuspecting people, watching them laugh as they realized it was her. She loved being the cause of someone's laughter or smile. It was one of the reasons she was popular in her clique of friends. She, however, did not do it very often. As much as she would like to, not everyone was as accepting or understanding. There were a few who refused to believe that she could not in fact speak. It was obvious from what she could do that she was not, in fact, deaf or mute. Hell, she didn't know why she couldn't manage language when she had already managed so much more.

She had forced herself to keep from dwelling on it, realizing that there was nothing she could do about it. Her uncles were very understanding and supportive though. It brought her family peace. Her family was all about peace and harmony, or her uncles were anyway. She personally enjoyed a pinch of chaos and a dash of adventure. Her mischievous side usually outweighing her uncles' teachings of focus and calm.

Her uncles were pretty much her dads in her life. They were the ones that raised her since she was in diapers. They were the only family she knew. They insisted on her calling them uncles though, she wasn't sure why. They had let her get away with it once during a Father's Day picnic her third-grade class had put together. All three of them having insisted on going much to the teacher's protest, insisting that there would not be enough food if they were to go. So, the uncles catered the whole thing to keep her from complaining. Which she didn't. They were invited to any school event a parent would usually go to afterward without any issues.

It was just how they were. Kind, selfless, humble, but stubborn and like her, full of wit. How they managed to run a successful restaurant, she didn't know. They had a tendency of feeding the homeless and taking food to the sick and elderly. She supposed the besides that, they were a very popular spot. The food was quote, unquote, from a five-year-old that frequented the place with his family: "Amazingly mouthwateringly delicious." Also, "Way better than pizza."

That little boy was, in fact, a part of the last family they had to serve tonight. She briskly walks to them serving them their drinks. Her usual attire for working in the restaurant proudly dawned. A pale yellow silk oriental styled sleeveless dress with an elegant floral design, and slits that went up on either side of her thighs. Warm black legging underneath to hide her legs and a pair of simple comfortable black flats to keep her feet from killing her.

Her friends insisted that she looked like Chun Li from the Street Fighter video game franchise. She had been flattered and pointed out that she didn't have Li's monster thighs or spike clad bracelets. She did, however, dawn Chun's trademark ox horn hairstyle. But that was just a personal preference of hers and not because of a video game character. She seriously debated on it as a Halloween costume for this year though. She had different colored dresses to change it up for when she worked at the restaurant. Maybe she and one of her friends could go together as a Chun Li vs. Chun Li set up, wearing different colors like it would for the purpose of telling which player was which.

The family at the last table, the one with the little boy, were regulars. Here every other Wednesday if they could help it. They were an average Caucasian group. Tall, with light colored hair, blue-eyed and California tanned. A real American dream team. She didn't know, but she imagined they lived in a big house with high ceilings and a piano. Timothy, the five-year-old freckled-faced boy was the youngest of the three siblings sitting at the table along with their parents. He was Mei's favorite customer. He was so easy to amuse and so much more alert about what was going on around him than other children his age. Even those much older than him. Most of them being faced fused to their phones or handheld games.

She personally takes great pride and credit for his alertness. She remembers she had tried to cheer him up on his second time visiting. He had been about three of four years old at the time, fussing about how he wanted to go to McDonald's or Chuck E Cheese, she couldn't remember which exactly. She had gotten his attention by folding a napkin into a bunny, making it hop to him on the table to calm him down. He, of course, loved it.

She made another one and while they played, and his parents were distracted; talking to one of her uncles, she pointed out an elderly gentleman to Timothy. The elder man was walking past them, and she threw her voice to make it sound as if his shoes were squeaking with each step. The poor old man releasing a fart when he was physically startled by the noise. Confusing the poor old guy further as he checked his shoes. He was also a regular and a known culprit for shamelessly letting them rip. It amused the little boy to no end. She motioned for him to keep hush about it and he has, ever since.

Now with each visit, he tries to find what's just natural restaurant noise and what was her. It had become their own secret little game, one they didn't have to acknowledge. It wasn't even his favorite thing about the place, believe it or not. Once he had started eating, that's when he _really_ got excited.

"He calls this his new favorite place to eat. We tried taking him to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday and he was so disappointed. We had already paid for everything in advanced though. He so wanted to come here instead." His mother claimed as they were being seated on one occasion. Awe, poor little guy, Mei thought. The food here was way better here than stale pizza and dry cake any day.

Today he was eagerly waiting for his food and Mei was thinking of what to do for him this time, pondering as she cleaned some of the newly deserted tables, careful not to put her tips into the bin. She paused for a moment, thinking. She wondered if she should use her ventriloquism or make him another napkin animal. She had a bit of an internal rule of trying not to do the same thing too many times. Kids got bored of the same thing, it was normal.

She had been good at keeping it subtle when she did throw her voice around. She didn't want to get the restaurant into any trouble. The sound of a stray dog or cat in the bus bin would probably be a bad idea and get the health department called on them faster than they could say 'soft or crispy'. She _had_ done it though, just _not when they had customers_. A riot of laughter from her uncles was guaranteed.

"What are you so happy about Timmy?" She could hear the eldest brother quietly tease, looking over his cell phone. She knew the elder brother, he was a cousin of a friend she had and had met him at a kickback once. She wasn't a big fan of his, he was handsome though. She _wasn't blind_. He had tried approaching her at said kickback. He seemed very _self-centered_ and had obviously been uncomfortable with her being unable to speak. She glances at Timothy and winks when she catches his eye, he smiles and sticks his tongue out at his brother, ignoring the question playing with his napkin.

"Leave him alone, Kyle. He likes it here." The middle sister defended. "He doesn't complain when he eats the veggies." She continued. Mei thinks she could be in high school. She seems well adjusted enough, even though she was still stuck on her phone. Hanna, she thinks her name is, puts said phone down to make room for her plate, eyes lighting up. At this point one of her uncles, her uncle Ai, had come to the table, placing plates and platters full of hot food in front of them. Spinning the turn table centered on top of the table to accommodate more without having to move around them.

"Mommy's veggies are yucky." Timmy mumbles, shifting in his seat, excited about the meal. His mother laughing a little at this, denying nothing.

"That's not very nice, Tim." Their father lightly reprimands then looks up to her uncle that was serving them. "Thank you, Pete." Pete being her uncle Ping. He had requested the nickname after too many snickers from younger less polite customers when he introduced himself. He had become very self-conscious about his very Chinese name in public. Mei smiled a little as she continued to clean up.

She did not know who her actual parents were, but her uncles had been the best. And sure, they clashed sometimes, like all families do. But for the most part, each one of them was as loving and dedicated to her as any loving parent should be.

When she was very little and didn't understand a thing about how the world worked, she had asked them about her parents having heard kids from preschool talking about their mommies and daddies. For the longest time, they told her that they had found her as a baby inside of a giant blooming flower, back on a mountain in China. That she was created by this magical flower. She believed it too. _That she was some kind of a woodland fairy or something_. It wasn't until she grew up a bit and went through a sex education class that really realized that it wasn't even possible. She guessed that area of the female anatomy could be called a flower though. She wondered if her biological mother had been obese, a " _giant flower_ ".

She had asked her uncle Ai about her parents, he was the one she felt most comfortable talking to about emotional things, after that _very informing_ school lesson. He told her that they had found her, _this time_ "in a golden basket with silk blankets". That she was probably a princess from that far-off land he had once called home. His expression full of mystery and wonder. Even going so far as moving his hands to emphasize. And that they had no idea who or where her parents could be. His expression deadpan and tone flat. His humor dry, he and the others weren't comfortable with her trying to figure out who her actual parents. They saw themselves as good enough. After a few more times of asking she got a strong impression that it was a tender subject. So, she let it go. She didn't want to hurt them, they were her parents as far as she knew. They were all she needed in a family.

She sighs out loud, remembering how frustrated she had been back then. She was still curious about it, but she figured if her real parents weren't looking for her, why should she? Finishing the last table that needed to be cleaned off she walks past the table where Timothy sat with his family. He was playing with his napkin, trying to fold it like he had seen her do so many times before. She couldn't help but smile and put down the bin to stop and help him. She made it into a bird this time and patted his head, he said thank you and giggled happily.

Mei winked at him and gave him a thumb up before going through the double swinging doors that lead to the kitchen. There she spent the rest of the family's meal, eating her own meal and doing her part to clean up before it was time to go home. Her uncles had begun to clean too up and were starting to take inventory.

It was already late, long after closing, when Timothy and his family had finished. A lofty conversation had been evoked between the family and her uncles. All the tables and dishes were clean except for the ones where the family had been sitting. They had all kindly said their goodnights to everyone after paying their bill. Mei crouched down and personally handed one of their fortune cookies to Timmy, not being able to restrain the wide smile she got seeing him. He paused before returning to his family, looking at his mother questioningly.

"Mei," His mother addressed her, "Timmy has been practicing something for you at home." She states, smiling somewhat proudly at her son before backing away a bit to give him space. Watching him intently as he was about to do whatever it was he was about to do. She knew what it was but was still excited to see it. Mei raised an eyebrow in curiously. She looked back to Timmy wondering what it was he was going to do. He looked very unsure and embarrassed. And then, he begins to sign. They were just three clumsily adorable signs, and she loved them.

'I. Love. You.' They were the cutest thing she had ever seen him do. Mei signs back, 'I. Love. You. Too.'

He jumps happy with himself, giggling to near hysterics like kids were known to do. Then he gave Mei a big hug before scurrying to his mother giving her a hug too. They were leaving now, but Mei could hear Kyle teasing his little brother about Mei being his new girlfriend. She turned around just in time to see Timothy beaming and nodding excitedly. He probably thought she had some kind of superpower. She laughs quietly to herself, her uncle Xiaoli noticing. He pinches her arm lightly.

"You are too young for a boyfriend. No boyfriend until you're thirty. _He doesn't even have a job_." He scolds playfully, then smiles and gives her a warm hug, rubbing her arms endearingly afterward. "Go home Mei, we will finish up here. You need rest. You worked hard today." She smiled at him returning the hug before signing, 'No training tonight?' He shook his head. "None tonight, get home and get to bed, okay?"

This wasn't out of the ordinary. Now that she was older she realized that they really doted on her. And she loved them for it. She promised herself she would she would take care of them once she could. Then they wouldn't have to work this hard anymore. They were all almost old enough to retire. She was just having a hard time finding employment with her _situation_ that paid well enough. Most places had employers that did not understand that she was not, in fact, deaf, she just could not speak. It didn't leave a lot of options and a lot of people were not willing to accommodate. Many were just not willing or wanting to learn sign language for her sake. She even offered to do the job through notes, but the language barrier was always just too much for them to accept.

She firmly hugged Xiaoli back before going to where her stuff was behind the kitchen. There was a hidden little hallway lined on one side with mid-sized lockers, where all the employees had their personal things. Grabbing her small backpack that served as her purse, she pulled her car keys out and was about to leave through the back door where her car was parked. She paused though, she could hear her uncles arguing, trying to be quiet about it, but again, her hearing was better than most. She couldn't understand what they were saying. It was all very fast and in what she assumed was Chinese. She clicked her tongue in frustration.

Ever since she was little they would do this. If there was something they didn't want her to know they would just speak in another language, mostly Chinese or she guessed it was usually Chinese. It was like Christmas every year, they would discuss things right in front of her, probably what to get her in the case of Christmas, and she would have no idea what they were saying. Keeping secrets like they did.

Whatever it was that they were discussing now was starting to get heated, and one of the uncles had to hush the others. They were listening to see if she had left yet. The back door had a unique snap and screech as it opened and squeal when it closed, then another two clicks when it closed and locked shut. She was fully capable of mimicking all of it, and debated on it but huffed and left instead. She would be sure to ask them about it when they all got back home.

She fully doubted that they would tell her anything willingly. She was glad that there would be no training tonight. She didn't know what it was called but she knew it was some form, if not multiple forms, of martial arts. It was usually that or some other weird thing they would put her to study. It seemed random sometimes. From herbal remedies to meditation to weird hand gestures and chants. It looked like something that would be in that anime everyone was watching at some point, Naruto she thought it was called. Were they trying to raise her to be a ninja or something?

Well, she couldn't do the chanting, but she had gotten the hand gestures down and memorized. They said that as long as she said them in her heart it was what counted. Whatever that meant. They were a very superstitious group and told her that it would be something she might have to use later to protect herself against evil. Hell, they even tossed salt over their shoulders sometimes. She could have sworn she saw them put it under the door sill too when they were doing repairs one day. She personally thought it was a bunch of nonsense, but it was really one of the only things they asked of her. So, she felt obligated, no matter how tired or frustrated she got. It wasn't like she wasn't already used to it. She had been doing it for as long as she could remember, it was just a part of what was her life.

She was sworn into secrecy from showing or telling anyone about any of it. More so after she had taken down a bully twice her size in the second grade. He had been a big obnoxious boy that called her a retard and had started to push her around during recess. He had called her that because of the odd noises she would make when she played. She hadn't yet thought of how others might take it, she was a kid that was just having. The thought that someone would bully her because of it hadn't occurred to her. Who could blame her? She did know how to sign already but none of the other kids understood her. She was only about six or seven years old at the time.

She wasn't sure if her uncles thought it was illegal in the states to train someone so young or what, but they had looked scared when they stepped into the principal's office. It had been their first time visiting because of something she had done. She was sure now, thinking about it, that they probably thought they were the ones in trouble. They were so like children sometimes. She was of course reprimanded at home after they had cleared things up with the principal. She was not a violent person and had clearly been defending herself. The principal agreed but stated that it was completely inappropriate to roundhouse kick a fellow student, no matter how much they pushed her.

Mei remembered she had cried, thinking that she was in big trouble and that they wouldn't want her anymore. Something the bully had said about nobody wanting to be her friend because she was broken. She was worried that they would send her away. She told them, sobbing, her little hand signing that she loved them and that she was sorry. They reassured her, after spanking her for having gotten into the fight in the first place, that they would never ever send her away. Her uncle Ai sealing the promises by kissing the scrapes she had gotten from the bully having shoved her onto the blacktop. He kissed her on her little hands, knees, and the top of her head, hugging her closely. Sad that it was something she even worried about.

She was told that some people would just not understand her situation, but that it was no reason to fight them. From that point, they started lessons on how to defend herself, _without hurting anyone_. The only time it would be okay was if she thought she or someone she loved was about to get really hurt and she felt had no other option. From that point on they focused her lessons more on defense instead of what they had been doing, which was offense. Above all else, they concentrated on teaching her how to stay out of trouble. They didn't want to be called into the office again for her having been in a fight. It never happened again and was soon forgotten by everyone who had been involved.

She smiled as she sauntered to her car, remembering how much they had protested about her choice when she had chosen it. They call it her _death trap clown car_. She, however, and proudly, calls it her _little bumblebee_. It was a bright yellow body paneled little Smart For Two with black tridion cells. She loved her little car, it was great. It didn't even use gas, and always got her from point A to point B. It was zippy, and she could park it pretty much anywhere. Her little rebellious act against her elders, though not entirely _intended_ to be rebellious.

She climbed in and started the little car and made her way home. On the way, she pondered, trying to think of what could have her uncles so upset. Wondering if it could have been something she had done. She hoped it wasn't something serious, like a bill they had not been able to pay. That they wouldn't lose their business. They did well with the restaurant, but they weren't exactly making big cash. The restaurant ate up most of what it made with rent, utilities, general maintenance, and keeping the shelves stocked. The house, they had finished paying off and now owned. Her uncles weren't exactly known for their big spending habits though, so she doubted that.

She grumbles a little, tightening her hand on the steering wheel, feeling somewhat helpless to help them if they did have a financial issue. They refused to take any money she had made on her own. She had even tried depositing it secretly into their account, that they all three happened to share. They had noticed, and she found the same exact amount on her desk the next day. She only made whatever was tipped to her at the Szechuan and her meager part-time wages at Paul's Pet & Supply Store. She refused to let them pay her at the restaurant, they were already supporting her.

The more she thought about it as she drove, the more she tried to understand, the more she contradicted her thoughts. They weren't really the type to argue over something like that. They never ever argued about money. When they had had issues before they were always calm and sure about the outcome. Their faith in one another always gave her confidence.

"We can always make more money, we just have to work harder. But remember Mei, money is not everything in life." They were always humble about everything, smiling and nodding, trying to charm away any worries she ever has about them.

In truth, she had only ever seen them argue when it had something to do with her and her well-being. Like when she had sprained her ankle one time during a sparring match. They barked at each other for some time after. One uncle blaming the other for being too rough, and the other complaining that it wouldn't be teaching her anything if he was too gentle with her. But obviously feeling very remorseful about hurting her. Sometimes her uncles were way more protective than others, though they were all quite overbearingly cautious much of the time.

Their home was not far from the restaurant. The Szechwan Chinese Kitchen was around the corner from a suburban area, but they didn't live there. They did, however, live some ways away in the same direction, almost on the edge of the town. About a five to ten-minute drive depending on if you were following the speed limit. They had neighbors on one side of their house and almond fields on the others. It was a decent sized home for four people. A four bedroom, two bathroom home. One uncle to each room and one for herself.

She pulled into the driveway, pushing the button she had pinned to the visor. Slowly the garage opened, it was nearly empty except for some toys she had had as a child along with some bicycles they all rode in the summer. A big wheel, a doll house, and a playhouse kitchen. The old toys were sun bleached from being outside for so long when she was little. Her personal favorite had been the big wheel. She remembered drifting a little through the little dirt trail they had made for her in the backyard and on the sidewalks when they would walk to the nearby park among the suburban homes. If they made these for adults, she would totally get one. Maybe they did. She would have to consider it for when she had a solid job. She didn't doubt her uncles would want to try it as well.

She was in her spot, leaving room for the van the uncles preferred driving in. They had another car, an old beat up mid-sized sedan, but it had broken down last year. Well that and the RV, but it hadn't been used in years. The rolling turd wasn't in the garage collecting dust though, it was in the large shed-like building they had on the property. It looked like an old barn. There they had a lot of the stuff they had brought with them from their home in China. Scrolls, books, tapestries, and all kinds of other things she couldn't even begin to try to understand if she tried to read it.

Her car was the newest, and _'fanciest'_. It was _fancy_ because it ran on electricity and had a USB port, so she could play her music from her phone. She had chosen it because of its great mileage and low cost to purchase from a dealer. They had insisted on a dealer for her car when she needed one. Apparently, craigslist was out of the question. Even though they had gotten theirs through it. It had been used, she made sure of it. Insisting that it was because of its color when truthfully it was the cheapest option. She just hoped nothing too drastic would happen to it in the long run. She was afraid to see what the maintenance would cost for such a peculiar little car. She took care of it as best she could though, turning to YouTube when she got lost.

She sighs, turning off the automobile, plugging it into the wall, and making her way into the house. As she was making sure the garage door was closed all the way before heading into the kitchen, that was adjacent to the garage, her phone went off. The notification sound telling her it was one of her uncles, they also shared one phone amongst the three of them. Again, insisting she needed her own phone since they were almost always together anyway, and she went to school and work.

'We will be working on the changes to the menu. For next month. No need to get ready tonight. Relax. Go to bed early. You worked hard today. Hugs and kisses. Goodnight princess.' She could tell by the sign off that it was her uncle Ai. He was the only one who called her princess. Her uncle Xiaoli must not have told him that he had already let her know that there would be no training tonight. She smiled and replied as she made her way to her room.

'Okay uncle, don't work too hard and get home soon. Tell everyone Love you and goodnight.' She pressed send just as she got to her room. Sebastian leaped up to her demanding attention and prancing excitedly around the room. Usually, he was waiting for her or her uncles by the door to the garage. He must have closed himself in her room by accident. His rear end wagging something fierce.

Sebastian was her dog, a Welsh Corgi and she loved him to death. She pets his head then holds his face lovingly as she kneeled to hug him. Making goo-goo noises at him like he was a baby. Which he pretty much was her baby. Then she shot up and made a low whistle and hand gesture for him to sit, and he did so, nub still wagging like crazy. Then a double whistle, the first one short and high while the second low and drawn out slightly, holding her hand out for a shake. He did so as well. She playfully pushed him over and rubbed his belly as a reward. He barked once happily then growled in content as she rubbed more vigorously. He then perked up and rolled over to stand up turning in a circle and then facing the door. His sign of needing to go potty outside.

She leads him outside and lets him do his thing. Climbing onto the swing they had roped up in the backyard she watched as her stump of a dog sniff around and chase something she couldn't see. Glancing up, the moon was full and bright, the night sky holding her gaze. It was unusually clear for being so close to the light pollution of the town where she lived. There was a quick streak of light, a shooting star, and she made a wish on it. She found she never grew out of some habits, and was fine with it. She wished hard that whatever was bothering her family, that it would be fixed and hopefully soon.

Sebastian finished his _'duty'_ and they went back inside. She had already eaten dinner back at the restaurant after cleaning up, so she brushed her teeth and got ready for bed. She put her hair into a loose messy bun on the top of her head. Her PJs were an old martial arts uniform one of her uncles had grown out of, horizontally. They had all gotten quite a bit plumper since she was a baby. It was silky soft and loose around the collar just how she liked for sleep. Her own personal uniform snugger around the neck, waist, and chest. Mind you they were still comfortable and easy to move in, much harder for her opponent to grab onto during a fight, or in her uncle's case sparring matches. Though she usually just wore some yoga pants or leggings and a tight tee or tank top if she could help it. Her uncle Xiaoli tried insisting on the traditional garb, that it had to do with respect for the culture she was from. She found that odd when they didn't want her to learn the language. Overall, her own uniform was not comfortable to sleep in.

She crawled into her full-sized bed, where Sebastian was already waiting for her and shut off her bedside lamp. Snuggling her back close to her dog, liking the warmth that radiated off the fluff ball. It wasn't long after that she drifted off to a calm deep dreamless sleep.

The next morning the room was unusually cold for the warmer weather they had been having. She had woken up but had refused to open her eyes to the harshness of the sun, slightly shivering. Not wanting to leave the warmth of her bed she bunched the blankets around herself and closer to her face, she breathed into them trying to warm up her hands. She blindly searched for Sebastian with her back and found his warmth under a different set of blankets. It wasn't odd since he liked to cocoon himself when it got cold too. He shifted and groaned. _Wait, groaned_? Dogs don't groan, and that _didn't even sound like a dog_!

Her eyes shot open and she bolted upright so fast she nearly launched herself off the bed, something between a squeak and a gasp escaped her. She grabbed the blankets fruitlessly trying to steady herself and instead brought them with her, her legs tangled, as she slid off the mattress. Her pajamas too silky smooth after the momentum of shooting up. This time she is shouting in startled surprise as she fell, arms flailing in a mess of blanket fabric. The side of her head knocked loudly against a wall. She rubbed her head, hissing through her teeth at the new pain there. What? Her bed was never this close to a wall, it was centered in her room. If anything, she should have landed in Sebastian's doggy bed.

She heard some quick movements above her on the bed and then a sharp metallic click. She was still rubbing her aching head, her elbow quietly and awkwardly knocking on the wall. She looked up from her cramped narrow spot between the wall and bed, to find a man. A mountain of blankets on top of and around her, somewhat blocking her view, so she slowly moved them away from her face. He had short wild hair, probably bed head, and was in a black T-shirt, pointing a rather shiny handgun right at her from where he was half lying, alert on the mattress. He was glaring green daggers at her, rather menacingly. She realized he had already cocked the gun. _That was what she had heard_. It was what had gotten her attention and caused her to look up.

He stood up slowly from the bed and made his way to where he was fully in her line of sight. His movements full of caution, never losing his aim on her. She could see he was only wearing boxers with his t-shirt. He was the one who had groaned, he had been sleeping next to her?

She gulps visibly and slowly raises her hands up, they were still covered, like most of her was, by the blankets. Her eyes wide in surprise, fear, and confusion. She could hear someone else moving in the room now too. Another bed? A squeaky mattress was hard to confuse. What the hell was going on?! She was about to try to peer over the bed, the one she now realized was not her own, to see who it was but was stopped.

"Who or _what_ the hell are you!?" he shouts. Mei flinches, her eyes snapping back to his gun. _Crap! Crap! Crap!_


	2. And so it begins, for real now

Chapter 2.0

And so it begins, for real now

Crap crap crap!

Did these people kidnap her _in her sleep or something_? _How_ was she supposed to answer him? She was so disoriented! He looked like he seriously meant business, and the business end of his gun was not something she wanted anything to do with. Wait, what did he mean who or _what_ the hell are you? What the hell else would she be? _A zebra_? Great she got kidnapped by some crazy guy and who knows who else! What to do? What to do?

"Um, Dean." It was whoever else was in the room. Another male, based on the voice. This got the gun wielding man's attention. That must be his name. Dean looked around him, briefly, then did a double take. His eyes slightly wide and jaw set. What ever he saw surprised him, but Mei couldn't see. She took his looking away as an opportunity to free her hands from under the blankets. Even though the movement had been small, it got his attention back to her.

Dean shifted his gun to one hand and caught something the other man tossed to him with the other. It was a flask. He opened it with his thumb and proceeded to douse her face with whatever liquid was inside. She sputtered a little in surprise. It was just _water_? She was so confused, and now she was wet too. He handed the flask back to the other man in exchange for a knife. A _very sharp and pointy_ one, she noted trying to back away from him but coming against the far wall, keeping her hands up.

He approached her, flipping the knife in his hand so he was holding the blade. Gun still pointed at her head. He was handing the knife to her? She shook her head, refusing, obviously unsure and scared. Was this some kind of weird game? Give it to her so they could shoot her and call it self-defense? _No Thanks_.

"Just touch it. It's silver." he demanded. As if that made sense. She shook her head again and he seemed to get agitated.

"Touch it or I _cut you_ with it." She flinched and hesitantly pressed against it with the back of her hand. Nothing happened. He drew it away from her. She could practically see the gears turning behind his green eyes. What else was he going to do?

"Well that covers _most_ things but it doesn't explain all of this stuff." he motioned around the room, probably talking to the other man. He seemed to relax more, as if she had passed some test. The other man came into view now, curiously looking at her. He had longer hair as was very, very tall. He was wearing a white V-neck shirt and sweatpants. He quirked a brow at her curiously.

"She hasn't said anything?" He asked Dean. "She looks… confused. I don't think this was her idea." He stated and she nodded, clearly confused. "What is your name? We aren't going to hurt you." The tall man seemed to be trying to calm her. They all stood still for a while, it felt like forever. They were waiting for her to speak, gun still aimed. She felt like she could hyperventilate. "He asked you a question." Dean demanded moving the gun slightly closer. The other man looked pensive for a second before stating, "Maybe she doesn't even speak English." Then there was a muffled buzzing sound coming from what she presumed was the nightstand on the other side of the bed. Then a loud and deliberate notification tone she had chosen for one of her friends. The timing of everything was almost too good.

" _Do you understand the words that are coming out my mouth?!_ " it was Chris Tucker, from one of her favorite movies. Rush Hour. Both of the men look to where the phone is, outside of her view. The tall man looks at Dean as if asking him if it was his.

"Dude, that's not one of mine." They both look to her, quizzically. She puts on a slight grimace.

"Chris Tucker? _Really_?" Dean asks, amused by it and the irony.

Her reaction is hesitant.

'Inside joke.' Then she resumes her surrender posture. They didn't understand, _of course_ they wouldn't know sign language. Their eyes did give away their newfound realization though. Dean turned his head away from her and whispered loudly.

"Sammy, did she just talk with her _hands_?" She thinks he assumes she's deaf. That's fine. She catches onto the other man's name. Sammy.

"I think so, this might be a problem. All I remember is 'thank you' and maybe some of the alphabet." Sammy replied, bringing his hands up and moving his fingers, trying to sign the ASL alphabet. It was pretty bad. They both looked uncomfortable now. She waves her arms cautiously, trying to regain their attention. Dean wasn't pointing the gun at her anymore but he still had it in his hand at his side. _So_ she still had them up, frightened. With her hands, still above her head, she moved one hand to look like she had a pen and the other underneath it like a surface to write on. Sammy jolted a bit understanding and shuffled away after a quick "Ah right." looking for something for her to write on.

Dean put his gun on a table behind him, realizing she was eyeballing it. He looked her in the face, moving slowly closer to her, motioning his hands gently for her to put her hands down.

"You. Can. Put. Your. Hands. _Down_. Now." He exaggerated each word with his mouth so she could read them as he sat on the opposite corner of the bed, facing her. It was like he was trying _not_ to scare her now but still keep a cautious eye on her. She didn't get it, one minute he was ready to shoot her, she could tell he _really was_ , and the next he was trying to comfort her? _What the hell_. She obliged trying not to break eye contact. She was sitting on her feet and they were starting to fall asleep on her. She wondered if she should make a plan to escape. She was quite _literally_ cornered. She squirmed visibly and hissed a little at the discomfort.

Sammy returned with a pen and motel notepad. Handing them to Dean who handed them to her. She began to write, using the wall.

"Please don't hurt me! Where am I? Why am I here? And who are you? What do you want?" She chose to leave out that she was not deaf, she might overhear something useful that she could tell the police if they continued to think she was. She handed the paper back to Dean who began to read it somewhat out loud.

"We wont hurt you, unless you're here to kill us." He seemed to seriously think she might be. She squirmed some more trying to free her feet from under her. But trying not to move too suddenly since they obviously saw her as a threat. It was becoming quite unbearable. It seemed to make Dean curious.

"Do you need to pee or something? Because you're _dancing_ an awful lot and there's _no music_." She asked for the notepad and pen again. 'My feet are asleep.' Handing it to him with a pained expression. "Seriously?" Dean hesitated but offered a hand to help her up, the taller man watching carefully. She reluctantly took it. She noticed he had a firm and calloused grip as he helped to pull her up to her tingling feet.

"Don't get any ideas. I'm just going to frisk you." She visibly stiffens at his statement and is practically a statue as he does so. Checking her not so modestly for weapons. Every muscle stiffening as she restrains herself from hitting him.

"She's got nothing on her. Her pajamas are nice though. Sit. Down." He makes sure she can see his mouth this time and pushes down on her shoulder so she will sit on the bed. He sits next to her on the edge of the bed. He feels too close so she scoots as far away from him as she could, nearest the headboard. She had shaken the blankets away from her when she had stood up but her feet were still very uncomfortable. So, she brought them up on top of the bed, rubbing the soles and arch to try to get some circulation back into them. Flinching visibly at the pins and needles feeling all too common with sleeping limbs. She was free from the corner now and she looked around, finally getting a good feel of her surroundings.

A motel room. They were in a motel room. That was _super_ shady. There were two beds, a little table with chairs, a couch, and a tv. She guessed on the other side of the wall, that her head had hit earlier, was a bathroom. Sammy was between the two beds, the only door to the outside behind him. He had her phone and he was looking through it. She cursed in her head. She would have to find another way to call for help. The gun was still too close for comfort, all they had to do was leap toward it and they would have it again. Not nearly enough time for her to bypass Sammy and get to the door and another few seconds to unlock it before getting out to who knows where.

"Hey hey hey," Dean got her attention, obviously seeing her start to panic as her eyes darted around the room. "We. Are. _Not_. Going. To. Hurt. You." he paused, " _Unless_ you're a monster." He tried calming her down then just stated the last bit as if it were just a matter of fact. He motioned to the pen and paper, eyebrows raised, facial expression trying for reassuring. He wrote his name down, pointing at it on the paper then himself. Then he wrote Sam, pointing to the lanky mountain of a man still going through her phone. He raised a hand in greeting, smiling half heartedly, regretfully really, continuing through her personal mobile, as he glanced up from it.

"The only family contacts she seems to have are two." He showed Dean the contact list, she could see it as well. The time on the notification bar told her it was 7:14 am, the date next to it. February 3rd 2010. Okay yesterday had been the 2nd. The contact list right underneath; Uncles phone # 1 and Uncles phone # 2. She tried reaching for it but he drew it back, narrowing his eyes at her. She frowned, worried. What did they want from her? Did her uncles even realize that she was gone? How long ago had she been taken? Did they drug her? She hadn't felt _anything_ getting here. She pointed back at her questions on the paper. Dean, noticed her impatience.

"Woah woah we have questions too." He commented starting to write something down, something along the lines of 'What are y' then crossing it out, changing his mind. Sam begins to relay to Dean what he has learned so far about her.

"There are zero calls in her call history, obviously, but the last text she got, the Chris Tucker tone that went off earlier, was from a Rebecca. She was asking if they were still on for a movie today. Before that, Uncles phone # 2 told her at 9:45 pm last night that they would be working on changes for the menu. For next month. No need to get ready tonight. Relax. Go to bed early. You worked hard today. Hugs and kisses. Goodnight _princess_." he paused and looked at Dean, who chuckled.

"She could be a princess." Dean murmured. His eyes agreeing somewhat playfully as he looked her up and down, a small flirtatious smirk now evident there. Mei's expression turned pallid at this and he looked wistful for a second before turning back to his writing. She was still scared. If she really didn't know how she got there, who wouldn't be? he thought.

"Yeah Dean, she's _someone's_ princess. The area codes are from California. So, what is she doing _here_?" He asked. She had turned to him when he started to speak. Her eyes going back and forth before locking on whichever one of the two was speaking. She looked even more surprised. They weren't even in California? Panic started to set in even deeper now. Her heart sank and she wanted to cry. Her eyes started to tear up but she held back as best as she could. That was when she noticed, what had surprised them earlier, when she was back in the corner and couldn't see very much of the room.

She slowly made her way off the bed, feet still a little tender, but not too badly. Her eyes focusing on everything lying around the room. There were some of her things, as she had them in her room. Her clothes, shoes, some books, DVDs, and photographs. Ones that had been pinned on her vanity mirror back home. All of her things were scattered about in a perfect semi circle around the bed where she had woken up. Some even on the other bed, but never breaking the line.

She silently asked for Dean to let her through with a hand on his arm, he paused from scratching something else out, watching her as she walked in front of him, squeezing past where his legs hung off the bed. Her fear slipping away a little as full on curiosity and wonder now filled her. Why were her things here? And like this? This looked like something straight out of the twilight zone. She looked down to the blankets as her bare feet stepped on them, the ones she had been tangled in. One was hers and the other one from the hotel bed. She looked behind her, at the pillows near the headboard. Hers was there too, along with the hotel ones. She knew because it was her pillow sham that she had at home, completely different than the standard white that motels were known for. It had a pastel floral print.

She peered around the wall, into the bathroom where the line continued. More of her things there. Luckily none in the toilet, the seat was up. Her toothbrush was in her cup on the counter near the sink, like it usually was at home. She tilted her head picking it up in full on wonderment. She had to make sure it was real. She held it as she went back to where the men were following her with their eyes. Her own eyes full of questions as she looked at the both of them. Her mouth agape. They both looked at the cup then to her, just as confused.

"We are just as lost as you are princess." Dean broke the silence, then continued to write. Mei reached over and stopped his hand from writing anymore, blindly, without looking at him. She was making an internal list of all of the things she saw and recognized. She slowly took the pen and paper from him and was going to go to the table, but saw the gun and how Dean and Sam almost jumped to stop her from getting near it. She shot her hands up again, and slowly approached the table, her arm outstretched, scooting the gun away from her with the end of the pen. As if it was something gross and she didn't even want to touch it. She sat down slowly, her legs starting to give a little. After placing her cup with her toothbrush down, she quickly wrote.

'I can hear you. I'm not deaf. What is going on?' She held it somewhat demandingly out so they could read it, an arrow now drawn next to her questions she had written down earlier, dark in emphasis. Sam had made his way to the table as she wrote, had taken the gun from it, and was now handing it back to Dean. Pocketing her phone. She noticed. They were still unsure of her. They narrowed their eyes, suspiciously. She _wasn't_ deaf, so that was clear now.

"We are in a motel right outside of Sioux Falls, South Dakota." Dean says as he gets off of the bed, taking the pen and crossing off the question he just answered.

"We don't know _why_ or _how_ you got here." He smirks a little, "I'm usually pretty aware of who I bring to bed with me. And you sweetheart, I did _not_ see coming." He crosses off two questions.

"I'm Dean Winchester and that guy," He points a thumb at the tall man, "is my little brother Sam." Another question marked off. He crossed the last one off as he stated,

"As for what we want, probably the same thing you do right now. To know why you're here." He narrowed his eyes at her as he said this, seeming to try to figure her out.

"Now it's our turn for questions. First, what is your name, and where are you from?" He sat across from her giving her back the pen, so she could answer. She wrote down her name, 'Mei Xinyi' She didn't feel comfortable telling them where she was from exactly so she just put down 'Central California'. He opened his mouth to speak again but paused as something on the floor caught his eye. He picked it up. It was a DVD of one of her childhood favorites. It had been a birthday gift to her from one of her friends a few years ago.

"So, is all of this stuff yours Mei?" He asked flipping it over to look at the other side of the cover. She didn't have to write anything down, and just nodded, studying his interest.

"Power Rangers, the Movie? _Seriously_?" She went deadpan with his comment, writing down: 'Sue me' so he could see. He laughed, handing it to Sam who quirked a brow, fully amused as well. She didn't care. She wrote down in retort, hiding it from Dean's view until she was ready to show him.

'You're still in your underwear.' Her face was still unimpressed. He hadn't realized that fact, seemingly intrigued by everything that was going on. Looking down at himself, he chuckled nervously.

"You ask her, you know, _stuff_." He motioned to Sam going to the bathroom, taking what she assumed was his duffle bag. She blushed, it had been near the path where her stuff had landed in the room and one of her black bras was latched onto one of the looped handles. He didn't notice. She reached out to try to stop him but Sam had taken his seat and cleared his voice before she could.

"What is the last thing you remember before being here?" He asked, he hadn't noticed what his brother had taken with him either. He did, however, curiously notice her blush. Then there was a "What the hell?" from the bathroom where Dean had disappeared to. He came back out, now fully dressed in jeans, shoes and a button up plaid shirt; that he left unbuttoned over the black tee he was still wearing. He was holding the bra by the strap with a finger, handing it out to her. "I think this is yours." She snatched it and hid it under the table on her lap. He was a little too amused by it for her liking, she could see it in his eyes. It wasn't even over an hour ago, he was pointing a cocked gun at her head. _What was wrong with these people_? She then crabbily began to write what she remembered about the night before.

"So, you just went to bed, at home in California, and woke up today, the next morning, here?" Sam repeated what she wrote out loud for clarification. She nodded.

"Has anything," He stalled, hesitating. "like this ever happened to you before? Anything out of the ordinary." She shook her head, no. Mei was looking at him like he just grew an extra head. Was this normal for them? They didn't seem as surprised as she was, at least not anymore. And what was with the full-on interview? It was like they were prepared and just did _weird_ stuff like this routinely.

"So, you were just spirited away from your bed, _and into mine_ , for no reason?" Dean chimed in, he seemed disbelieving, but not entirely toward her. Like he had a feeling something else was up, and it wasn't completely her fault.

"Well," He let out an exasperated sigh, "we will figure this out later. I am starving! _You_?" he asked her, and she stared at him, surprised. _Seriously_? Food? With all of this going on? Sam stood up and somewhat forcefully took his older brother's arm, taking him to the far corner of the room away from her, whispering quietly so she couldn't hear. But she could.

"Dude, we don't know who or what she is, if she's even human and you want to _take her out to eat_? It could be some elaborate trap to try to get us to put our guards down. Remember that ghoul and _Adam_? It passed the tests too. For all we know Crowley could have something to do with this." Mei pretended not to hear them, starting to pick up her things that were closest to her without leaving her seat at the table. Making little stacks of what was what. Ghoul? _What_? She didn't know who Adam or Crowley were. They weren't making any sense.

"That doesn't explain why her stuff is here too. Why would a ghoul bring all of this with it to try to get to us? I mean _come on, Power Rangers the Movie?_ And Crowley is dead, Cass burned his bones a while back. _Yeah that works_. Hell, maybe Cass was the one that dropped her off. Look if it makes you feel better then _don't_ put your guard down, I'm sure as hell not going to. But for all we know she could be a victim in all of this, _whatever it is_. Do you really want to give her the third degree? What if she's _not_ out to get us? What if she just _needs help_?" he narrowed his eyes at Sam, as if searching for something. He still wasn't entirely sure if he had gotten his whole soul back, he trusted Death had put it back, he could already tell that he had, but maybe he left _something_ behind? Castiel had said it was severely damaged, raw even.

"Look, how about we just don't let her out of our sight until we will figure this out." He finished, trying to reassure Sam by placing his hand on his shoulder. Sam seemed hesitant, but nodded. This was different than Dean's usual character, to defend before jumping to persecution, but he agreed. Sam could only think that maybe something had changed him in the year and a half since he had last seen him. They still hadn't talked about what had happened after he fell in the cage with Lucifer. Maybe it was because she was pretty, he didn't fully know. They turned to her and started to pick up her things that were closest to them from where they were in the room. Sam started stacking her books, one or two of them actual children's books. One book caught his attention and he showed it to Dean.

"This might come in handy." it was 'American Sign Language for Dummies'. Dean scoffed but took it, obviously interested. He flipped through it absent-mindedly, then looked at her asking if she minded, then tossed it onto his bed to look at more thoroughly later. Mei didn't mind, it's why she had it. Not for this kind of situation but more for anyone willing to learn. She wondered how long they were planning to have her around. She didn't want to be rude though and tell him 'no, that's my book'. _They had a gun_.

Within a few minutes, they had all her things on what was Sam's bed, separated by what they were. Books and movies; all media type things. Pictures and personal trinkets; her bedazzled photo album seemed to amused the two men. Then there was her pile of clothes and personal hygiene items. She quickly tried to find all her undergarments before either of the men got to any of them. Her toothbrush, hairbrush and some random hair ties were also included in this group. Her small purse of a backpack, school backpack and small carry on suitcase were there too. It was as if whatever caused this wanted her to have everything she would needed or want away from home. She even peered out the window into the parking lot, hoping to see her Bumblebee there. Maybe she could just drive home in it. No luck. Oddly enough her keys were in her bag, where she had left them the night before.

It really made her uncomfortable that all of this was here, and not at home, where she should be too. She sighed sitting on the edge of the bed. It wasn't like she had a _lot_ of stuff, but it was pretty much everything she had. Besides the movies, books, blanket and pillow, it looked like a good chunk of it would fit into the backpack and suitcase. Standing up, resigned, she began to pack them as best as she could. Her most bulky clothes items were left out. Her zip up sweater, a bomber jacket and a pair of lace up moto boots. She kept those out, besides whatever else she was going to change into for the day.

Sam and Dean had begun to gather their things together as she was packing her own. There were _way_ more guns in the room than she first realized and it made her very fidgety. Sam had also gotten dressed and said something about putting their stuff in the car as she made her way to the bathroom with her backpack. Planning to put her PJs in it after she changed.

She felt weird, like none of this was real. She looked at herself in the mirror after changing and letting her hair down. She felt like she was watching her life from _somewhere on the outside_ and this was all _some sort of weird dream_ , or movie. Like she had a script and was just following it as best as she could. She honestly didn't know how to react. How was she even coping with all of this? _This wasn't normal_. She should be trying to maker her way home _right now_. But _how_? She had hardly any money; maybe $24 and some change. She didn't have her debit card, she rarely ever carried it with her, it kept her from spending needlessly, and it wasn't among her things.

She didn't know how long she was in there, just staring at herself in the bathroom mirror. Trying to wake up from whatever this was. Even wetting her face with cold water. She was completely zoned out. She could hear the brothers speaking quietly outside, when Sam had gotten back, barely discernable over the sound of the water running. Her mind not even trying to understand what they were saying. So, when there was a knock on the door she jumped, startled, and started to roll her hair up, in her trademark ox horn style. She felt she needed at least something normal right now. Doing her hair was normal. Right? It was Dean at the door.

"Mei? You okay in there?" He knocked again, either worried or wondering if she had escaped. Maybe he had forgotten that this bathroom had no windows. She opened the door to find him leaning against the frame, he had put on a jacket. It was a brown Carhartt Duck Detroit Jacket, she knew because she had gotten one for one of her uncles back home. They shared it amongst themselves, like they did most everything. She nodded sullenly, staring at the familiar-ness of it, already having done one bun and now working on the other. She had changed into her dark denim slim jeans and a gray t-shirt that had a graph of zombie expressions. Dean pointed at it like he wanted to say something but then changed his mind.

"Ready to eat? We are going to swing by the diner to get food then go to an old friend's house, he lives just on the other side of town. We'll pick something up for him too. He might have a way to get some information on why or how you got here." She seems unsure about the plan he was laying out. She still didn't know who these two were. Should she even go _anywhere_ with them? What if they had something to do with what was going on? But really, what choice did she have? To top it all of most of the world's population probably didn't even know sign language. Sure, she could write but how was she supposed to make a getaway like that? If she hadn't thought it was weird and curious already, their reaction to her just spontaneously appearing had her wondering what they were used to in their lives. Maybe she could find some answers going with them.

"Oh hey. Here, I got this in the little shop next to the motel office while I was out." it was Sam, he handed her a small spiral notebook and pen. She had been zoning out again, lost in her thoughts. They thought it was like she was in mild shock. She took the notebook and looked at it blankly. "Hey, are you sure you're okay?" It was Dean again, he gently grasped her shoulder, trying to get her to respond. She looked out of it. She snapped back into reality and shook her head honestly. She opened the notebook and wrote down,

'I want to go home.' They looked somewhat sympathetically at her words. "We will do all that we can to get you home Mei, _promise_." Sam tried smiling reassuringly, but it looked kind of forced and made her uncomfortable.


	3. Breakfast with Winchesters

Chapter 3.0

Breakfast with Winchesters

The Winchester brothers were at a loss as to why, and when Mei had shown up on Dean's bed. He knew he was tired when he had gone to bed late the night before but he wasn't that much of a heavy sleeper. He should have felt something _before_ she snuggled up to him and woke him up. For a moment, just a moment, he thought he was in bed with Lisa again. _It was driving him nuts_. He felt like he may have gotten too comfortable with civilian life. That he was soft because of it.

While Mei had been getting ready in the bathroom and Sam had already returned from checking them out of the room, they discussed the situation further without her there to listen or watch them.

"Do you really think it could have been Cas? Why would he bring us a mute girl without telling us why?" Sam whispered. Dean was putting his Jacket on, the only civilian one he had from when he lived with Lisa and Ben. He debated on getting rid of it even now. It had memories of when he had that life, and he was set on leaving it behind him now that they didn't even know who he was.

" _I don't know man_. We can pray to him when we get to Bobby's. Ask him to check her out. Make sure she's human. I _want_ to put this chick in lockdown when we get there, _but_ she might be innocent in all of this. _I'm not sure I'm buying this whole mute act_." At this he picked up the American Sign Language for Dummies book he had put on his bed earlier, giving it an interested but doubtful look now. "I'm sure I heard her scream when she fell off the bed." Sam was a little taken aback by Dean's sudden skepticism towards her. He _had_ mentioned not to drop their guards around her though. So, he was still cautious.

"I thought you said she could be the victim? And just because she screamed doesn't mean she's not mute. It's not like pushing the mute button on a TV remote Dean. It could be something psychological." Sam was the one defending now and Dean felt so much more reassured about what Death had done for him. He did have his soul back. T-1,000 Sam would have probably just shot Mei.

"She could be, I'm not saying she is or isn't. Look, we don't know what is going on." He paused, hesitating, wondering if it had something to do with his deal with Death. "It's got me wondering if something else is up. _I mean_ , look at how she just showed up _on my bed_ , with all of her stuff the way it was. It's like the _friggin Twilight zone_." He noticed Sam might have caught on to his hesitation. "Did you find anything else on her phone that might be useful?" He asked trying to get the topic back to Mei. Then pacing a little, probably trying to think up the best plan of action.

"I think I might have found an address that we can consider looking into. I'll do more research when she's not so close. We know a demon isn't possessing her. An angel might be, but I doubt it _. If it is any kind of cover up_ , her phone is well done. She even has a _dog_ and a few friends." He turned her phone over to him to show her selfie she had taken with a Welsh Corgi along with another picture that had Mei and some other girls posing for a group picture. "We need to tell Bobby that we're bringing her if we do go to the scrapyard." He paused remembering how Bobby had seemed unusually uncomfortable with him being back. Even going so far as to avoid him when they had left the day before for Oregon. Oblivious as to why. "I don't think he would like us just showing up the day after we were supposed to leave for a case. Much less with another probable case. We already have that plane crash we're supposed to be investigating, in Oregon." There was a pause as they thought.

"Yeah, and I don't think he would appreciate us just dumping her there for him to baby sit. He's still a little touchy about the last time I did that." Dean was referring to when he had left Soulless Sam with Bobby and Sam tried to kill him. "While we go out for who knows how long. There might even be more cases on the road." He thought a moment more, then he had an idea. "We'll take her with us I guess. You can promise to get her home with those puppy dog eyes. That will keep her from going anywhere while we gank whatever, if there even is anything in Oregon. We can ask Cas to use his angle mojo to watch her. If Cas see's she's not bad news, let's just think of this as another case. If she really does just want to go home, we just take her home and forget _all about this_."

Sam didn't seem too sure about Dean's plan. It was _way_ too cut and dry. "What do we tell her we do? _What if she is a victim_? And knows _nothing_ about what's out there? I'm pretty sure it _was_ something that got her here. What if," He hesitated hoping what he said next was wrong. "What if she doesn't have a home to go back to Dean?" Dean sighed at his little brother, then nodded silently. He knew that she had more than likely gotten there by unnatural means. She was a job, one that landed on his bed, good or bad, and who knows why. Either way they would have to investigate. He was already uncomfortable bringing his brother on the job they were going to in Oregon. Now it looked like they might have another one on top of that. He wasn't sure how fragile the wall was in Sam's head. He hoped that Mei's appearance had nothing to do with what Death had done for him. Then he remembered where she was.

"She is taking a long time. Look, we'll tell her we're private investigators, that'll explain most of the stuff we've done and might make her a little more comfortable around us. Our fake licenses should be in the glove compartment." He paused approaching the door. "I'm pretty sure that there are no windows in there." He didn't even let Sam respond, knocking on the door to the bathroom. A few seconds later they could hear the faucet turn off and some shuffling. He knocked again, asking if she was okay. She opened the door, looking downright depressed. His jacket seemed to catch her dazed interest making him a little curious. She nodded that she was okay as she had her hands above her head, trying to finish fixing her hair.

"Ready to eat? We Are going to swing by the diner to get food then go to an old friend's house, he lives just on the other side of the town. We'll pick something up for him too. He might have a way to get some information on why or how you got here." Dean said thinking more of Cas than Bobby's expansive library. She looked hesitant, as she finished tying up her hair. They couldn't say it was a hairstyle they saw too often, but it suited her. She looked like a little kid being told to get into a stranger's van, vulnerable and scared. They were silent still waiting for her to slip up and say something honestly. There was the short pause and then Sam acted like he realized he had forgotten something.

"Oh hey. Here, I got this in the little shop next to the motel office while I was out." He handed her a small notebook and the pen they had been using earlier. She took it, her eyes out of focus. Her expression _seemed genuine_. They had seen many people in shock in their line of work, but were not completely sure if _that_ was what was happening here. She _was_ lost somewhere in her head. "Hey are you sure you're okay?" Dean reached out and she jumped slightly, her eyes starting to gloss over with unshed tears, again. She shook her head and they felt truly sad for her for a moment, before remembering that this could all just be an elaborate act. She sniffed and wrote down that she wanted to go home.

"We will do all that we can to get you home Mei, _promise_." Sam tried for his trademark _comforting the victim_ expression but it slipped a little. Because he still wasn't entirely sure she was a victim. Dean gave her shoulder another firm grip, offering to take her backpack that she had dragged out of the bathroom with her. She nodded in thanks handing it to him but keeping her smaller one over her shoulder. Noting that he had her ASL for Dummies book in his other hand. She wondered if they were bad people. They didn't seem like they wanted to hurt her, at least not anymore. She thought back to when Dean had been pointing the gun at her. Even then he looked defensive and startled. She guessed if she had just shown up on the bed, who wouldn't be freaked out? She didn't even _believe_ in anything _magical_. _How else_ would she have gotten there though? Had her uncles been right to be cautious of the supernatural?

"Well, let's get the last of your stuff in the car. Oh, and you might want to put on your jacket or sweater. It's kind of chilly outside. It's still kind of early. The sun hasn't warmed everything up just yet." Sam stated as he shifted her books and DVDs into one pile. Dean had her backpack and they had started to make their way out as she put on her jacket. She was almost out the door but remembered her blanket and pillow, one on the floor, still in the corner and the other on the bed. She quickly scurried back for those, awkwardly, before making her way back out the front door, feeling kind of sad for forgetting them. _She could say that she had a lot on her mind_. In her defense.

She stood outside, the parking lot now in full view. The chilly morning air lightly nipping at her nose and the sunrise blinding her a bit. The two men had stopped heading to their car to watch her as she had scampered back inside, both quirking a brow now. Dean could swear she reminded him of an awkward kid, he felt she was innocent in some way. Or she was good at acting like she was. He still wasn't sure. Sam was amused and silently hoped she wasn't any trouble. If anything, his first description of her personality from what he had seen so far would probably be awkwardly adorable, like a lost puppy. Maybe he did feel his time away in hell? He thought she was _adorable_? He shook his head a little, getting it off his mind. She could be a killer for all he knew.

She looked at them now, booth staring at her bemused. Sam shaking his head slightly. She felt herself shrugging in embarrassment. Her blanket draped over her shoulder and arms, hugging her pillow closely trying to hide her heated face. Comforted somewhat by the smell of home. They seemed to notice that they were making her uncomfortable and snapped out of it.

She felt weird going into a car with complete strangers. They were two grown men she didn't know and they had a lot of guns. For all she knew they were taking her to the slaughter. She seriously hoped not. She chanted to herself to be alert and attack if anything sketchy happened. After a few seconds of awkward silence, they started their way to what she assumed was their car again. And It was a beauty.

"Mei, say hi to Baby." Dean beamed proudly, petting his _baby_ lovingly before opening her trunk to put Mei's backpack in, Sam carful with the books after him. She shoved the pillow and blanket afterwards, covering everything up, feeling a little vulnerable and exposed without it. She hadn't bothered to fold it in her hurry. She then stood to the side of the car, peering in at the bench seats wondering where they would want her to sit.

"You can get in the back seat." Dean was opening the front driver side, Sam climbing shotgun. Dean noted that Sam had removed their weapons from the backseat floorboards when he had gone out earlier. She opened the door and slid into the back. It was _very_ roomy inside, way different than her Smart. _Not even comparable_ really, she thought. It smelled of, leather and something else she couldn't quite place. It was herbily though, and musky she was sure of that. It was _defiantly_ a man's car.

Sam sat with his back to his door, his arm resting on the backrest of his seat, his body angled toward Dean. She knew it was too keep an eye on her, though he did seem genuinely curious about her. She was sure they probably had a gun or two in the front seat. They seemed the type, what with the arsenal they had had back in the room. It made her uneasy to think about it.

"You feel like eating?" Dean asked as he reversed from the parking spot. She wasn't sure if she was hungry, she took out her notebook. 'I don't think that I'm hungry, but I'll eat.' She handed it to Sam. She would need her strength if anything were to happen where she would need to get into action. With everything that was going on, she still felt out of it and light headed. She tried to remember if she had seen how their postures were, if maybe they were practiced in martial arts. She guessed that they knew how to hold their own in a fight. But even if they did, it would be hard to tell how well. Her uncles had tried teaching her to never assume when it came to opponents.

"Denny's, it is." Sam stated, handing her notebook it back to her. She smiled hesitantly. She liked Denny's. They had a yummy menu, and the staff was usually kind. There would probably be other people there too. A very public place sounded okay to her.

As they made their way towards the diner, Sam flipped through a few pages of her book that Dean had brought with him. "Get this Dean, it doesn't look too hard to learn this. Seems kind of caveman though. No offence." he glances back at her and she shrugs, it was true. None taken. "The way they are explaining it anyways. 'I'm eating pizza' the signs are just 'me eat pizza'." Dean nodded, his expression confidently intrigued. He could do caveman. He had learned harder things in his time as a hunter, he was sure. In the back of his head he wondered if they could do an exorcism with it. Probably not. At least it was just _English_ , in a way.

"So, it's kind of like charades. Do they have cuss words?" he asked seriously. Mei quirked a brow and Sam looked annoyed. She wrote in her notebook, 'On my phone, in the kindle app.' She handed it to Sam who looked a little surprised now, and amused. "Really?" He then pulled out her phone noticing she was looking at it longingly. "We'll give this back to you once we make sure it's safe." She looked quizzically at him. What did he mean safe? Safe for _her_ or safe for _them_? She mouthed the words and gestured so he could understand. "Safe for all of us."

He then brought up the app and read the title out loud through soft chuckles. "Dirty Sign Language. With the 'I' being an exclamation mark. Everyday Slang from 'What's up?' to 'Fuck off'." Dean looked thoroughly interested now. "We'll have to keep this away from Dean or he might have too much fun with it." He says jokingly toward Mei. "Awe _come on_ man." Dean protests, glancing back at her though the rearview mirror. She smiled a little impishly. At least they seemed to have some sense of humor. And she appreciated that they were trying to lighten up the mood. He smiled back, she could see it through his eyes, it was the only thing she could see from her position in the back seat. Sam then began to read off the table of contents out loud.

"Wait! They have _'Horny Sign Language'_?" Dean cut him off from listing off the rest of the chapters, completely interested now. They had stopped at a light and both looked at Mei questioningly. Mei had completely forgotten about that chapter. She hadn't seen the book in a long time, and had only skimmed through it when she had. She hadn't really had to learn anything in it, she _already knew it_ , but had it for the same reason she had the other book. So, people could learn from it, in this case her close friends. She would admit her jokes around them sometimes got a _little_ _nasty_. She blushed brightly, shaking her head no. Sam almost laughed. "I don't think she wants us to learn those." Dean looked disappointed. "It could come in handy. To picking up deaf chicks." He defended. Mei looked startled for a bit then relaxed. She wasn't sure if it was a safe subject to be discussing with strange men. They didn't seem interested in her, _in_ _that_ way, though.

She wrote in her notebook. 'I don't want you guys to get the wrong idea. I got the book for jokes that I only have with my friends, so they would understand. I haven't even really looked through it. I mean I have, but just to teach friends.' She paused from writing, thinking of what else to convey.

'My uncles would kill me if they knew _I knew those_. They are _very_ old school. " _You shouldn't get married until your 30_ " type of people.' Sam read it all out loud so Dean could get what she was saying too. "How old are you anyway?" He asked afterwards. She wrote 'I turned 25 January 1st.'

"You were born on New Year's Day?" She nods. "That makes you about 3 years younger than I am. I'll be turning 28 this May. Dean just turned 32, last month. In January, too. On the 29th." She nodded again in understanding. They weren't too much older than she was then. She hadn't thought about how old they could be, just that they were weird about this whole situation. She wrote on the notepad, 'Happy belated birthday?' Dean chuckled his thanks. Sam looked a little guilty. He hadn't said anything like a happy birthday to him, not that they usually did. It was just another day in their lives. It made them both realize even more that Mei probably just had a regular life back in her home in California. 'Did you guys celebrate?' She asked curious now.

"We don't _usually_ celebrate our birthdays. We're always busy working from state to state."

'What do you guys do for work?' She asked. Sam and Dean both looked at each other as if silently agreeing on something. "We're kind of _private investigators_. We get cases from all over and try to solve them before more people can get hurt." It wasn't a _complete_ lie, if anything this seemed to make her relax a lot more. So, it was an acceptable half lie. She looked very interested now and like she had realized something. _That_ would explain a lot. The _guns_ and the _interview_. Maybe that's why they had enemies too. That's _why they were so cautious_. She snapped her fingers, signaling that she understood. 'That explains a lot. I thought you both might be kidnappers.' She wrote. Sam chuckled and stated, "And you still got in our car with us?" She shrugged telling herself she would still be careful around them, for all she knew they could be lying. After a few seconds, Sam opened the glove compartment and took out two P.I. licenses, handing them to her. She looked them over carefully. They _looked_ legitimate. But what would she know? She had never seen one before.

She dug through her bag, the one that served as her kind of purse. She took out her two IDs. Her Driver's license and her School ID. Maybe they wouldn't be so worried about her if they saw she was just a regular person. Would they be able to tell that by her ID? She felt kind of dumb, thinking about it now, handing them all to Sam. For all she knew they had probably already checked her bag for weapons and seen the IDs. He took them and looked them over, putting his and his brother's back into the glove compartment.

"Wait. Your eyes are grey? They looked blue earlier." He read her information on her driver's ID then peered at her, slightly narrowing his own eyes to focus on hers. She noted that his were a kind of chocolate brown. She nodded, used to this reaction. Her eyes were grey but they seemed to pick up the colors of whatever she was wearing. It wasn't unusual for anyone that had a similar eye color. 'They looked blue earlier because I was wearing blue. It's a trick of the light kind of thing. If I wear yellow they look kind of hazel.' He did a drawn out "Oooh" in understanding. As long as her eyes didn't turn black or start glowing, they were fine. Dean seemed to want to see too but was busy pulling into a parking spot in front of the Denny's, where they were going to get food.

They were out of the car after Sam handed her IDs back. "Should we just eat here? And do take out for Bobby? We still have to let him know that we're coming back." Sam asked stepping out, Mei getting out and standing next to him. The top of her head reaching about where his armpit was. _Damn_ he was tall. She chose to get out on his side. _Sam hadn't pointed a gun at her_. _**Yet**_. Dean shrugged and reached back in for the book before closing his own door. If they were going to eat inside they were probably going to have to sit and wait for a bit for the food and it looked like it was moderately busy inside so they would probably have to wait to be seated on top of that.

It seemed to make the brothers uncomfortable to bring her with them, with so many people around. "Do you still think we're kidnappers? Don't want you making a scene if you do." Dean asked as they made their way toward the entrance. She thought a moment then shook her head, 'I do have a lot of questions though.' She wrote and showed it to him just as they got to the door.

"We'll do our best to answer them." He said holding it open for her, letting her and his brother inside. She signed 'Thank you' after being slightly startled by the loud gust of air coming from above the door. It was too keep out flies, she knew that, but she still hated it. The men chuckled, she was pretty easily spooked.

They were all glad to see that it wasn't too full, a lot of the tables were taken but there weren't a lot of people waiting to be seated. Almost right away they were in a booth, Mei near a window. Sam sat next to her and Dean across from her. They didn't want her getting out without their consent. She didn't mind as much now. She felt a little more comfortable. At least they were pretending to be good guys, if anything. And they wouldn't do anything with all of these people around them, even if they were actually bad guys. She decided then to give them the benefit of the doubt. They looked over their menu's and all got waters when the waitress asked if she could get them something to drink. She let them know that she didn't have a lot of money, they reassured her to not worry about it.

Mei decided what she wanted and wrote it down to hand to the waitress when she got back. It was what she always did. A Build Your Own Grand Slam. She picked four of her own items. Oatmeal, with brown sugar, raisins, and cream. 2 slices of Toast, wheat, with extra butter on the side. And Sausage links with hash browns, extra crispy. All of that for $6.79? Not bad. She ripped the note out and handed it to Sam, who looked it over. "That sounds good, I might have the same." Dean had been going through his own menu, he glanced up to see what Sam meant. Sam knew Dean would probably get a burger or something else heart clogging. He was the carnivore out of the two, constantly teasing him about his salads.

"Does she eat like a bunny too?" He joked as if on cue. "No Dean, we're having oatmeal." Sam calmly retorted. " _Same thing_." The elder brother went back to his choices. He put it down on the table, holding his hand out to Sam. "I want to see the other book." He stated but the waitress returned asking if they were ready to order. And they did. Dean ordered a stack of pancakes, with bacon and eggs.

Once the waitress got the men's orders she looked to Mei. Mei nudged Sam, who still had her order in his hand. "Oh right." He handed it to the waitress who looked confused, Mei signed thank you to her smiling. The worker realized why she had written it down now, smiling back. Dean winked at the waitress as she turned her smile to him before leaving.

"I still want to see the other book." He held his hand out again, this time determined. Sam looked to Mei, who just shrugged. 'It's not like you're going to give me my phone back right now anyways. I'm not worried about what you might find, I got nothing on there to hide.' Sam reluctantly handed Dean the phone after opening the kindle app and bringing it up to the book his brother so wanted to see. They spent the rest of the time waiting for their food, at first just watching Dean try to cuss in sign language. Mei decided to try to correct him when he got it wrong. Sam even joined after a little while. It was oddly enough fun, like it was with her friends, when they were trying to learn.

'Are the turkey bacon strips any good?' Mei asked Sam, they had just gotten their meals. He had gotten oatmeal too, but had egg whites and turkey bacon, instead of sausage and hash browns like she had. "Yeah, want to try one?" He asked after swallowing a bite. She was a slightly taken aback but nodded. He cut a piece for her and put it on her plate. She made a face after trying it. He chuckled. "Don't like it huh?"

'Real Bacon is better.' Dean sniggered at her note. "Damn right it is." The rest of the meal was eaten in this same kind of atmosphere. It strangely felt comfortable, even for the Winchesters. Mei, completely forgot about her questions that she had mentioned when they had walked in, and was too enthralled by the food and company. She hadn't really realized how hungry she was.

Even though she had been hungry she didn't finish all her food, the portions were bigger than she remembered. Leaving a sausage and some hash browns. She offered them to Dean who gladly took them. Besides the guns and not being old Asian men, these two kind of reminded her of her uncles. They seemed laid back and talked about normal things, like places they had been and other foods they had tried, at least they did now anyway. From what they talked about, they had been all over the United States. Their life sounded exciting. She still had no idea what they talked about back at the motel room though. Maybe it had been some kind of code for their P.I. business?

"Should I get pie to go?" Dean asked excitedly. Sam looked at him blankly. "Dean, even if I said no, you would _still get pie to go_ , especially since we're going to Bobby's and not hitting the road after this. Speaking of Bobby I still need to call him." Dean grinned, knowing his brother was right. He looked to Mei as Sam pulled out his own cell phone. "You seem pretty calm now, that's good. I'll share some pie if it makes you feel any better." She smiled back at him, showing teeth this time. He would share his pie, she had a feeling he didn't do that very often with strangers, at least not ones that he didn't take to bed with him. He seemed like a real player. His comment about picking up deaf chicks had given her that strong impression. That and how he not so subtly flirted with anything that had boobs. Herself and the waitress the newest victims of his handsome smirks and charming demeanor.

"Hey Bobby, yeah it's Sam. Look we we're still in town and this case kind of landed on us. Yeah, I know we were supposed to leave for Oregon already. Look we have a girl, her name is Mei. She just showed up on Dean's bed last night or this morning. No, Dean was not drunk and we didn't hear anything. Some of her stuff is here with her. It was strange, like the stuff we usually deal with. Yes, she's right here. She doesn't know how she got here either. I know you're not a psychic Bobby. We were wondering if you had anything that might tell us…" He paused, Bobby must be the one on the other end of the line. Mei could hear a gruff voice full of sarcasm complaining. "Okay, okay, we will take her with us. She has her stuff in the trunk though and it's hard to get to things. Would it be okay if we leave some of her stuff at your place? We know your place is not a storage unit. But we need access… Yeah, we will give you the address to ship it to once we get her home. Yes, we are taking her home, _we can't just keep her_." He smiled a little embarrassed at Mei as the conversation continued. "Yes, we checked. Mhm, mhm, yes, we did that already. We're going to ask Cas to double check. Okay, well we are at Denny's right now. Do you want us to take you anything? Alright. Okay, extra crispy. Right. We'll be there in a few." He finished and hung up. He relayed what Bobby wanted to the waitress who had come to the table again. Dean had already ordered a whole pie to go.

Within 10 minutes they were ready to go again, Dean with his pie and her book, and Sam holding Bobby's breakfast. Mei was curious as to who Bobby was. She wondered what he was like, before actually meeting him. The two men seemed to trust him and he seemed to have the same caution that they did based on the half of the conversation she had been able to hear. 'What is Bobby like?' She wrote to Sam, since Dean was driving again.

"He's an older guy, like a second father to the both of us. He has a ton of resources and contacts, maybe one or two of them will be able to tell us why you're here. He's really," He paused trying to think of the right word. "He's really careful about who he lets into his house though. So, don't get offended if he comes off as paranoid. He might splash you with some more water." Dean chuckled. "He still does that to us whenever we get back too. It's normal." Mei was still confused about the whole water thing. So, she asked. 'what's with the water anyways?' Sam read aloud as usual. Both brothers seemed to hesitate. Did they really want to tell her that demons were real and walked among them? If all went well, she would be back home soon. Living her normal life again. Dean was usually the first to jump on just blurting out that they were real but after his time with Lisa and Ben he wasn't so sure. So, he was the first to say something.

"It's a superstition we have, with wires. Never sure if someone is wearing them. Might try to get information on a client like that. Client confidentiality and all that, you know? You know what, it might be best if you just wait in the car when we get there. At least until we talk to Bobby." Mei nodded slowly, half understanding. It still didn't explain the whole silver thing. She would just have to ask that another time. She didn't really have the chance to now, they were pulling into what looked like a scrap yard with a beat-up house on the property. This was where Bobby lives?

The two men got out of the car, motioning for her to stay. Sam came to her window, while Dean made his way to what looked like the back door to the house, and asked her to roll it down. "It is okay if we just send you your stuff home to you in the mail, right? We might have to take you to a job or two on the way to California but we will get you home. It's just that we have tools in the back that we might have to get to in a hurry on the job. We still want to see if we can find out how you got here. Do you understand?" She nodded, reluctantly and wrote. 'Can I have my phone back to send a message to my family. I don't think they know where I am. They are old and I don't want to worry them.' She showed her request to him. He looked regretful and apologized that he couldn't give her phone back yet. 'Can _you_ send it to them then and just let me see?' He agreed to this. She was glad.

'Uncles, I am away from home and will be back in a few days at the most. I am sorry for not telling you sooner. But I am okay and safe. Please do not worry. Hugs and kisses.' She wrote down what she wanted to send then watched as Sam typed it in. It had been sent. He was about to go into the house after Dean but she clasped his sleeve before she couldn't reach, leaning outside of the window, already having written another question while he had copied hers to send. 'You will let me know if they reply?' He nodded and smiled, disappearing into the old house. She guessed she might not get to meet this Bobby guy after all. Or so she thought.

Meanwhile in the house Dean was quickly filling Bobby in on what had happened that morning when Sam came in, cutting him off. They both looked at him curiously. "She asked me to send a message to her Uncles. I took out the SIM card though, so it's not going to get through until I put it back in. The message seemed safe enough but, we don't know who it might actually go to." Dean and Bobby nodded.

"She seem at all out of the ordinary to you two? Anything?" Dean bopped his forehead at this, he hadn't gotten to mention something. "Oh, yeah she's mute. Hasn't said a word since she showed up. Has been writing notes to us this whole time. Sammy seems to think it's a psychological thing."

"I didn't say it was, just that it could be. Dean heard her scream and thinks it could all be an act." Sam defended himself. Bobby seemed used to their squabbling, but no less annoyed by it.

"Whatever she is, you keep a close eye on her. You two should be half way to Oregon by now, I thought you two left yesterday?" Bobby reprimanded. Dean scratched the back of his head, "We wanted to catch up some and get some good shut eye before going. Hey we brought breakfast and pie." At this he put the two bags he had gotten from Denny's on the table. In reality, he wanted to see how Sam _really_ _was_ a little longer before actually taking him on a job with him. Bobby grumbled his thanks and took it to start eating his breakfast.

"Well ain't you gonna bring in the broad's stuff? And ask the angel to see if she's even human?" He complained after sitting down to eat.

"Oh, yeah! And I told her I would share this." Dean prepared a plate of pie for himself and one for Mei. He left the rest of the pie in its tin, handing Mei's plate to Sam. "Here you go take her that and start taking the stuff out of the car. I'll call Cass and see if he had anything to do with this before we have her come inside." He then walked to somewhere else in the house, enjoying his first bite of pie. He was happy his brother was back, all of him. He wanted to talk to Cass alone though. He didn't want the angel to give away what he was working to keep secret. That his little brother had been walking around without a soul, doing who knows what.

"Hey Cass. Um, we don't know if you did this or who could have, but there's a chick that just showed up on my bed this morning. What are we supposed to do with her?" He prayed out loud. It felt less weird this way. When the angel showed up when he prayed like this as opposed to praying in his head.

"How should I know what to do with her?" It was Cas' gruffly familiar voice, coming from behind Dean. Good thing he had been expecting him, he hated being startled by the angel. "This was not my doing Dean. Some other power is at work here." Cas explained, he had obviously sensed something. He knew she was with them.

"Is she something other than human?" Dean asked. He had been worried she would be a ghoul, like Sam had suggested. "She is human. I could not see or sense anything out of the ordinary from her. There was however a great disturbance when she was moved to your motel room. A ripple of power unlike any I have seen in a long time. It was purely human." Dean looked a little surprised.

"A human did that? Moved her from California to our Motel room? How is that even possible?" Castiel nodded. "It was more than likely a _group_ of humans. The source has long left where it was. I have been unable to track it." The angel looked disappointed in himself. Dean roughly pet his shoulder in reassurance. "It's okay man, at least we know she's not a ghoul or anything. Don't have to worry about her eating us in our sleep."

"Some humans consume the flesh of other humans. Dean, it is called cannibalism." Dean scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I know what cannibalism is Cas. I don't think she eats human flesh. I've run into weirdos like that and she doesn't seem the type."

"She idolizes zombies." Cas added, and Dean remembered her shirt. "Zombies are popular right now. The Walking Dead is a new TV show human's like to watch for kicks." Cas looked like he wanted to ask why but Dean cut him off giving him the rest of his plate of pie. Peeking out the nearest window, it had a view where he could see his impala. Mei was leaning against it eating her slice of pie. While Sam was lugging her small suitcase and bedding into Bobby's house. "Don't worry about it, I don't think she's any trouble. Whoever might have sent her this way, just might be though." He turned around to talk to Cas some more but he had left, leaving his plate of pie on a chair. "I wasn't done talking." Dean huffed and finished his pie, returning to the kitchen where Bobby was finishing up his breakfast and Sam had brought in most of Mei's things.

"Cas says she's safe. Just human. She was moved here by _human_ power. _Pure human power_. So, no demons behind this either." He told mostly Bobby, who nodded reluctantly. "Guess she can come in then. She's going to need to pick her stuff that she's taking with her. She might be with you for a couple of days. If she is in some kind of trouble, you two should stick to her like glue." Bobby was throwing away the take-out container. The older man seemed pensive for a moment. "Does she know what's out there?" Dean and Sam paused from going out the door together to get her.

"Not as far as we know. We might want to keep it that way though. From what we've seen her life is _normal_. She has friends and a family to get back to." Sam said, and Dean agreed.

"She might not have a choice anymore. Something supernatural, purely human or not, brought her to the both of you. And probably for a reason. Even _if_ she still has a home and family to get back to I'm thinking you won't be able to _just sweep this under a rug_." Bobby said in a serious tone. He didn't seem too keen on their situation. "I know tellin' someone about what goes bump in the night ain't too fun. But maybe she ought to know before she finds out on her own, and the hard way."

"That's going to be kind of hard. We already told her we were just private investigators." Bobby sighed at Sam's confession. "Well it ain't a complete lie. Do you boys know how you're going to go about this? She's going to wonder what all of this is." He motioned to his messy collection of exotic books. All the information he had gathered on the creatures they hunted.

"We were thinking of not letting her be in here for very long anyway. Just to get her stuff in order and _go_. We gave her the idea that you weren't big on having company." Dean said bluntly. It was clear to Bobby that they had no intention of telling Mei anything about what they did. Bobby nodded. "I'm not big on having company." He repeated after him, emphasizing it as the truth. He knew how they felt about people with normal lives; they envied them.

"Let's _get this over with_ then." Bobby knew they had work to do.


	4. Let's hit the road Jack

**Author's Note:**

 **Okay so I didn't like how this chapter ended the first time I posted, so I deleted it and posted this one. I am trying to follow the episodes as best as I can, and not just inserting my character where she's just cut and pasted into it. I'm trying to mold her and the episode together.**

 **If you didn't know this already this story is the beginning of episode 12 in Season 6. Titled 'Like a Virgin'. I've had to warp it a little to fit Mei into it. Keeping it interesting is hard when you already have a script to follow and keep to.**

 **I'm trying hard not to make Mei a Mary Sue (learned about Mary Sue's recently and am dreading it) and keep the Supernatural characters true to themselves.**

 **I DO A LOT OF RESEARCH BEFORE POSTING ANYTHING. I can still make mistakes though so please let me know if you find anything wrong.**

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Chapter 4.0

Let's hit the road Jack

Mei had been waiting outside patiently. Sam had even brought her a pie, she was sure Dean had been joking about sharing back at the diner but gladly consumed the delicious morsel. Sam stating that it probably wouldn't be much longer before they left to Oregon, starting to take her things inside. She found herself still wondering what kind of man Bobby was. By the looks of his property she imagined there being a dog somewhere. She wondered if she whistled if one would come bounding out and if it would be friendly. She was about the test that theory when Sam and Dean came back out from the house.

"Hey, you can come in now, Bobby won't bite." Dean joked. Sam looked at him incredulously. Mei took out her notebook again ready to write for when she met this Bobby. She followed them into the house curiously. It was as beat up on the inside as much as it was on the outside. She found herself in a kitchen, her things under an archway that lead to what looked like a study. There were a lot of books and papers stacked in that room. It looked kind of like how her uncles had the barn with the RV back home. Or at least it had the same feel.

"Mei, this is Bobby, Bobby this is Mei." Sam introduced them, Mei smiled as kindly as she could for the situation. He looked worn and tired. The circles under his eyes heavy. His clothes as beat up and worn as the house he lived in. He was looking disbelieving at her pile of stuff in his house. He didn't look too happy about it to say the least. It looked like he was staring at the book on the top of the pile that Sam had brought in not that long ago. It was a children's book. She was a little embarrassed, but not about the book itself. But that her things were in this man's home. The feeling of vulnerability inched its way back into her. The feeling of having to rely on complete strangers, that she had just met was very uncomfortable.

"Bad Kitty?" it was the book on the top of the pile. Mei was a little startled. Bobby picked it up and flipped through it. "Isn't this for little kids?" She nodded. She wrote, 'I kept it. My uncles would read it to me almost every night when I was very little. I think it helped them with their English too. I'm sentimental with some things.' She held it out but Bobby didn't look up. He was still looking through the book. Sam noticed her note.

"Um Bobby." That got his attention and he looked to Mei for the first time. She had an unsure smile now that looked a little more like a grimace. He finally looked over the note. He looked at her as if he was trying to see through her. He didn't trust her, she was sure about that. "You sign girl?" He asked bluntly. She nodded, feeling very vulnerable and as if she were trespassing on his home. She signed, 'I am sorry if I am here without your permission.' He seemed to understand. Usually she got a look of confusion from people who asked even without knowing the language.

'You have my permission if you are not here to do bad.' He signed back surprising the brothers. They hadn't known he knew how to sign. They knew he knew a lot of languages, Japanese included, but signing was a surprise. Mei signed in returned, 'I don't want to do anything bad, I just want to get back home. Thank you for helping me.'

"Hey, _we_ can't understand you." Dean broke in before Bobby could sign again. "You don't have to sign she can hear you." Mei nodded and Bobby looked skeptical. "Well she said sorry if she was here without permission. I told her it was fine as long as she doesn't cause any trouble." Mei confirmed this by nodding more. She signed again, 'It is nice to meet you Bobby' She signed his name by spelling it, not yet knowing if he had his name given to him by another signer.

"The pleasure is mine." He seemed a little awkward, like he wasn't used to meeting new people this way in his life. Mei couldn't blame him, she felt even more awkward. She now held out her hand for a handshake and made sure her grip was confident and firm, how her uncles had taught her. He was taken aback by her politeness. "You boys could learn a thing or two from this one. At least she's polite. Good handshake too." He grumbled afterwards. Mei smiled a little. This wasn't turning out as bad as she thought it would be.

"Right, well, Mei you need to put together whatever you're going to want to take with you for these next few days. We'll have Bobby ship the rest to you once your back home." She nodded to Sam but then stopped thinking of something else. She signed to Bobby since it was faster than writing.

'I know it is a lot to ask but can I just borrow money to get myself home? I really do not want to be any trouble.' Bobby translated for the brothers but ended up answering himself. "We still don't know how you got here. It might be better if I investigate what I can from here, before you go off on your own. It might not be safe. These two are the best at what they do. If there is anything" He paused remembering that the boys did not want to tell her about the _exact_ kind of work, they did. " _funky_ about how you got here, they'll be the ones to protect you." Bobby could tell she seemed unhappy with this response.

"Aren't you wonderin' how you got here? Or why? We are the kind people you want around when you find out." He added, she seemed a little less speculative now but still unhappy. She just wanted to go home, not get dragged along with whatever it was that the brothers did. She kept on like she didn't want to grasp that something otherworldly had happened to her. But it was obvious to the men that it had. She had no choice but to accept it as it was. She kept trying come up with some logical reason as to why or how she got there. She came up with hardly anything that made sense. Maybe she was caught up in something like what happens in the Bermuda triangle? She doubted it. To make it even more weird; how was it that these people, Dean, Sam, and Bobby, were so calm about it all? Was this the kind of stuff they worked? Unexplained mysteries. Where was Scooby?

Bobby knew then that if they did choose to tell her about the things they dealt with, she would more than likely not believe them. Unless, she witnessed it herself first hand. Even with her spontaneously being sent to them, she was not wrapping her head around what it could mean. She was stubborn. 'Fine, I will go with them.' She seemed resigned again. Her signing a little more edgy and forceful than it needed to be, expressing her slight agitation.

"Get your stuff together then, and plan for more than a few days, you never know what might come up." He felt like he was talking to the boys again, when they were still children and stubborn. She wasn't a child though, she was just new to the life. He knew, even if it was just him, that she would more than likely be brought into the life. That she already had herself in it, the minute she showed up how she did on Dean's bed. Maybe even before then, if there was a reason for her ending up in their lives.

"Yeah pack up for a week just to be safe, sometimes these jobs take a while." Dean was cutting another slice of pie for himself. She looked at all of them disbelieving, her agitation returning. Sam was the only one who looked regretfully toward her.

She stood up angrily. 'I did not ask for this, I just want to go home and now you're saying it might take longer?' She signed frustrated. She understood that they had work to do, but so did she, back home. Where she belonged. The brothers noticed her anger but not what she had said. Bobby was the one to respond.

"Look _your highness_ , we have important work to do. Lives are usually on the line and if you think getting to your life back home is that much more important, then maybe you _should_ just get home." Dean and Sam seemed to get what might have been said.

"What did she say?" Sam asked anyway. "She ain't happy it might take longer than a few days." Mei huffed, she just wanted to get out of their hair. This wasn't where she belonged. Was she being unreasonable? She asked as much.

"Yeah it is _unreasonable_. If we sent you home and you got _hurt_ or _killed_ because of it, that would be on us for lettin' you go. _In good conscience_ , we can't let you go home on your own. But you _look_ like an adult so it's up to you in the end." Bobby seemed to be getting quite agitated himself. She stared hard at him. He was right, she could just go and leave all her things and find her own way home. Hitchhiking was still a thing people did, right? Did she really want to though? She did want to know how she got there.

"Either way you need to make up your mind, we can't take all day here, we were supposed to leave town yesterday for Oregon. People are going missing." Dean remarked, through some pie that he had yet to swallow. Sam looked at him somewhat disgusted but nodded agreeing. Mei wasn't sure which to do. Both options had their ups and downs. How badly did she want to go home and how badly did she want to figure out how she got there? Had her uncles even replied to her message she had had Sam send? She asked.

"She's asking something about a message to her uncles." Bobby translated. Sam took out the phone, it wouldn't turn on. It had died. Her charger was in her car back in California. Dean's phone looked like an outdated flip phone and she had seen that Sam's was a Blackberry. Great. Her decision weighed on how her uncles replied. She thought a moment longer. She had never been away from home without them. She loved them but, for a while now, she couldn't help but feel that this was some strange adventure she could go on. People were going missing? Was that what she was? A missing person. What if whatever was happening to people in Oregon had something to do with how she got there?

'Okay, I'll go with them.' She signed. She then began to pack her bags for her trip with them. Enough clothes for a week, 3 outfits, 4 including the one she was wearing currently. She could wash them mid-week to or just wear the cleanest of the bunch over again if she needed. They all fit rolled in her backpack with some space to spare. She finished filling it with essentials she felt she would need. Hairbrush, hair ties, toothbrush, and deodorant. She mentally went through the list of things she had in her purse. Her monthly hygiene products were there, along with a travel size container of her cleansing conditioner. She could use whatever toothpaste the men used along with soap and whatever else she couldn't think of now. She was close to being done but thought of something.

'would it be okay if I kept my blanket and pillow in the back seat with me?' She wrote to Sam and Dean, she assumed Bobby had left to somewhere else in the house while she had been busy. They didn't protest the idea.

"Sure, we do a lot of driving though. You'll be stuck with them back there with you in the long haul. If you do take them with you." Dean said, putting what was left of the pie away in the fridge, his free hand waving away absentmindedly. She neatly folded her blanket and placed her pillow on top of it along with her backpack. She double checked that she had everything she would need.

"I think she's ready," Sam stated getting up from his place at the table, he lifted all her things effortlessly and started to make his way to the Impala. She looked behind her before following them out. Her suitcase and other belongings were separated in another neat pile, ready to be packed and shipped. She wrote down her address and placed it on top of the pile. Maybe he would send it home as soon as he could. If he did, they might be home before she was.

They found Bobby outside, a beer in his hand as he leaned against the outer wall of the house. He had been waiting for them to come out. "I put some more _stuff_ in the trunk, since your taking an extra passenger. Somethings she might be able to use if things get _exciting_." Dean nodded and said thanks. Sam put her backpack in the trunk alongside their own bags and slid her other items into the backseat where she guessed she would be spending a lot of time. She wondered what kind of _stuff_ Bobby was talking about. Did he put a gun in there for her? She hoped not, she had no idea how to use one. Of all the weapons that she had practiced fighting with, a gun of any kind was not one of them.

'Thank you, Bobby, for helping me. I am sorry that I got mad. I understand that you all are just trying to help me. It was a pleasure to meet you.' She signed her farewells to Bobby, shaking his hand again afterwards.

"No worries, it's understandable, why you got mad. Just keep yourself outa trouble and you'll get home okay. It was nice meetin' you too. I'll send you your stuff as soon as you get home, here." He handed her a business card, Singer Auto Salvage was printed on the top along with any information she would need to contact him. She put it in her pant pocket and made her way down the porch to the car where the brothers were already waiting. She slid in and they made their way to the road.

At some point, Dean turned on the radio and Sam flipped through more of her book that they had kept in the front seat. She noticed Sam seemed less worried about her, his body no longer angled to keep an eye on her. She laid down, using her folded blanket and pillow as a backrest. Her shoes off and socked feet on the armrest of the door. She wondered how long the drive would be. She asked Sam, handing him her notebook with the question.

"It's about a day worth of driving, 23 or 24 hours." Her jaw dropped "Yeah." Sam chuckled at her reaction and she hoped there would be pit stops.

'What do you two usually do when you have to drive for so long?' She asked. "Well, we usually take turns driving when one of us gets tired. Dean listens to music, and I usually read." Sam motioned to the book. "Think you can help me learn this?" She nodded. If she kept busy maybe the ride wouldn't feel as long as it actually was.

Hours passed Dean mostly silent and Sam had been practicing his ASL alphabet, trying to memorize them. They had a few stops, getting food from gas stations where they filled Baby's tank and bathroom breaks when they needed them. Sam had gotten a car charger for Mei's phone at one of their stops. She had asked for it again, but he politely told her that it probably still wasn't a good idea. She huffed and told him to tell her when she could have it then. The drive informed them quite a bit about her character. She was polite, helpful, playful even, and kind but had a bit of a temper when it came to her getting home or contacting her family. Which they thought was normal. Given the circumstance she was quite calm. They were grateful for that.

Dean drove most of the morning until it was about 2 or 3 in the afternoon when he switched with Sam. Dean was a little more talkative to Mei than Sam had been in his time in the passenger's seat. She gave him some ASL lessons as well. He was more interested in the ones on her phone than the ones in the book. She had to tell him that he had to learn the basics first or he would just be saying dirty words randomly. They even played some I Spy, her notes sometimes coming in a little too late for Dean to guess. She resorted to just writing down the name of the color or pointing to something similar. Her pillow and blanket helped a lot with this, since they were the most colorful things currently in the car. Signing as well so he would at least learn colors too. All in all, the ride was made into a fun and entertaining journey.

At about 7 or 8 at night, the men switched again, Sam sleeping for a few hours before switching again and letting Dean sleep. She offered the backseat to them, with her pillow and blanket. They both seemed hesitant to at first but then eventually smiled and kindly accepted her offer.

After a few minutes of stretching and groaning at the kinks in their bodies between switches they climbed back into the car, Dean or Sam in the back, and Mei taking the front with whomever wasn't sleeping.

" _Oh_ , this _is_ comfy." Dean pipped up, fluffing the pillow then disappearing as he laid down when it was his turn to sleep. When it had been Sam's turn, his legs had to be bent way more than hers had. 'It's too bad you can't stick your feet out the window' She wrote him. He laughed, "Yeah and get them taken off by a semi, no thanks." He tried curling up like she had, but his frame was much bigger than hers and he found it more comfortable to just lay on his back, still propped up slightly by her things. It wasn't long after that he was asleep.

In the morning when Mei had woken up and both brothers were awake they had breakfast and filled their cooler with food they could have on the road. Sandwiches, potato salad, and a bag of chips. It was now Friday and they didn't plan many stops for today. They hoped to arrive in Portland early the next morning. The brothers would switch as they did the day before, when one or the other got weary. Mei had even offered to do some of the driving but they had insisted that it was fine, they were used to this kind of thing since they traveled all over. She wasn't sure if they were just trying to be polite or just still didn't trust her entirely.

The day went much like it had the day before, learning some sign language and playing some road trip games. They would get out and stretch their legs and body whenever they got the opportunity too when they had to stop for something. Be it gas, food, or bathroom break.

From what Mei could see, the brothers were very different. Sam was more conservative and casual. Puzzles and riddles were more his thing, games that had you thinking. Hangman and tic-tack-toe were fun with him. Whereas Dean was more outspoken and laid back he liked fast paced games and ones that required quick thinking, Eye Spy and Rock Paper Scissors got old quickly but seemed to be his style. Slug-a-bug got rough rather quickly, though _neither_ of them wanted to hit her, they had no mercy on each other though.

Mei had the most fun when they were making fictional families from the other cars. She hadn't been able to participate, due to the flow of traffic and the fact that they would have to wait for her to write to get her story. But it had been hilarious to see what the brothers came up with. It had been her idea to start the game and she couldn't help but laugh. She could tell by how they were reacting to one another that they didn't do this often, making a boring situation like a very long trip into something fun and enjoyable. She was glad to have played a part in something like this with them.

It wasn't odd to her, to play games and have fun where fun could be hard to find. She had a good example from her own family to try to create fun out of nothing. Even as an adult, she felt like a child at heart a lot of the time, and her uncles had raised her to embrace it. She still wasn't entirely sure she should trust these men though. Being a sour sport about it got no one anywhere though.

A good portion of the day went by like this. The younger brother had taken a nap a while back and was now awake. He looked to the backseat to find Mei fast asleep. It was very early in the morning, no sign of the sun out just yet and they were getting closer to Portland. Sam pulled out his phone and started to do their usual routine of checking in with the law enforcement of whatever area they were going to investigate in. In this case Portland P.D.

"Uh, you got it, officer. Thank you. You too." He hung up, finishing the conversation he had been having. Mei slept through the whole call. It seemed that the feel and sound of the car lulled her into a deep sleep. "So, get this, besides the crash, there were two other disappearances in town this week." He announced to Dean.

"Really?" the elder brother asked without looking away from the road. "Yeah, last weekend, a college girl vanished from her apartment." Dean glances at Sam, quirking his brow, that wasn't too strange. " _On the seventeenth floor_." Sam clarified, it was their kind of thing after all. "Then, three days ago, another girl didn't make it home from school."

"They know each other?" Dean asked. "No. No connection. Just young and female, like the plane-crash girl." Sam answered.

"What would disappear a girl out of the sky anyway?" Dean shook his head a bit. He couldn't say he had dealt with anything like this before.

"Good question." Sam replied, looking to Mei for a bit. Her back was towards them, her forehead pressed against the back seat. She looked comfortable curled halfway over her pile of bedding. He wondered the same thing she had earlier. Could this be how she ended up with them? He paused, pondering. Not just about Mei but about himself and his brother as well.

"So, you never even tried, huh?" This seemed to confuse Dean.

" _Tried_?" He glanced at Sam curiously. "To go live a life… after. You do remember you promised that, right?" Dean realized what Sam was asking and nodded, resigned now. "Yeah, I remember." Sam's expression was questioning. "So, why didn't you try?"

Dean kept his eyes on the road. "What makes' you think I didn't?" Sam unvexed, "Cause look at you. Look at this. You're exactly the same." Dean glances at him again and nods, it was the same. "Yeah, you're probably right." There was a pause, and Sam looked down to his feet, somewhat sad for his brother. Dean didn't want to lie to his brother any more than he had to.

"I was with them for a year… Lisa and Ben." At this, his little brother did look a little surprised.

"A year?" Dean nods. "So, then what?" Dean knew he would have to lie around this question. Sam had shown up in that part of his life. Sam without a soul, so he wouldn't remember.

"Didn't work out." He turned up the radio, his sign of trying to cut the conversation short. Sam curiosity was growing, trying to think of what could have happened, but he left it alone. Dean seemed upset to even bring up his life that he had had. He didn't even seem to care that he might wake Mei up, anything to get that conversation to end.

What they didn't know was that Mei had woken up at some point towards the end of Sam's call with the Oregon police department. She was curious too. She didn't want to ask though, it wasn't her life. They were having a personal moment, obviously thinking she was asleep.

It seemed to her that they hadn't seen each other in a while, over a year by the sound of it. They must have taken a break from their work, and just recently got back to it. There were girls going missing and they were trying to figure it out, probably to get them home too. Maybe people _did_ need help. She felt selfish for how she had acted earlier. Like a child wanting to go home from a sleepover.

"Do you think this might have anything to do with how Mei showed up?" Sam asked, finally changing the subject back to the case they were on and not his brother's life.

"I don't know, could be. All of the other girls didn't _just show up on my bed_ though." Dean sighed, as if that were a downside.

"Bobby will let us know if she's been reported missing. He said he would contact their P.D. if anything does come up. Tell them that she's safe and with us." They were talking about her now. She tried not to perk up or they might realize that she was awake now.

"We're going to have to get a room together with her. Might have to share a bed like we used to if they don't have a couch." Sam stated, thinking of what they were going to do once they did get to Portland. He knew that getting her own room might not be a good idea, what with young women going missing frequently there. Dean nodded.

"Just don't kick me like you used to when we were kids." Sam retorted. Dean chuckled. Mei was glad they were not just assuming she would sleep with one of them. Maybe, if they did have a couch she would demand to sleep on it. She was the smallest out of the three of them. It wasn't like she could pay for her own room and they had already fed her multiple times. She would just have to keep her guard up in case they got _ideas_. She thought they didn't seem the type, but you could never _really tell_.

"What do you think her story is?" Dean asked after a pause. He was referring to Mei again. "Do you think she's bad news?" He added, glancing at his brother and then to what he could see of her from his spot in the driver's side. Her legs were bent, knees angled toward where the headrest would be if the car had any. Her bomber jacket draped over them. He noticed now, with how well she fit in the backseat how small she was. She wasn't a toothpick but she was dainty.

"She looks pretty lost about this whole thing. Who knows. She doesn't seem like a bad person." Sam glanced back too. Her arms were crossed, her hand holding her elbow to keep it in place while she slept. Or he thought she was sleeping anyway.

"I'm not the _best_ judge of character though." Sam confessed after a moment and Dean tried not to snort. Dean knew all too well that Sam's reputation in character judgment was bad. Of all people, his was probably the worst based off the consequences alone. Mei decided that his snort was loud enough to have woken her up, she pretended to stir and sat up, rubbing her arms. It was chilly. The two men hadn't noticed because they had jackets still but she had taken hers off before falling asleep.

"She's _awake_." Sam announced somewhat playfully. She groaned stretching her arms as far up as she could without touching the roof of the car. She waved, tiredly in greeting to Sam, then put her jacket back on.

'Are we almost there?' she wrote down. "Just about, last we saw about 20 miles." Sam checked his watch and patted Dean's shoulder after a bit. "Hey, let me drive the rest of the way, you look beat. Get a little shut eye before we get there. Then you can sleep some more in the room." Dean nodded, pulled over and stretched his legs when he got out, yawning loudly. Mei got out as well, even for just a minute to stretch her legs again. She let Dean take up the back seat again and she sat in the front with Sam.

"How are you doing Mei?" Sam asked glancing at her for a moment to see how she replied, she teetertottered her hand to signal she was so-so. Not bad, not great, but okay. "Yeah, I understand. I'm glad you fell on us though. You seem pretty fun to be around, I don't remember the last time one of our road trips was this entertaining." She smiled at him when he glanced at her again. She wondered if she should let him know that she was a class clown, back when she was in public school, when he wasn't driving. She hadn't even tried her sound effects at any point since meeting them. She wondered if they would get a kick out of it, or just think she was weird.

She glanced down at some point during the rest of the ride and spotted her phone charging on the seat, next to Sam. It had been turned off, or was in sleep mode. She didn't know. She hadn't heard it go off all day. Had he turned off the volume? She wondered if she had gotten any more messages after the one she had gotten that morning. She sighed and leaned her head against the window watching as the lights flew by outside. She drifted off to sleep again not long after. Only to be awoken in what felt like a few minutes after dozing off.

They had arrived in Portland and were getting out to get into a motel room. They still had to eat again it was already the morning of the 6th, they had spent a good portion of the 4th and most of the 5th just driving. Mei and Sam had gotten enough sleep on the car ride. Dean probably needed a little more rest.

The only room the motel had, only had 2 twin size beds. They desided to take it, even for just the day and find something better later. Dean would be the only one sleeping for now. They had breakfast at a Denny's again before going back to the room. They took down all of the things they would need, Mei took a shower and changed her clothes feeling refreshed after wearing the same thing for about 2 days. Sam took one soon after her.

Mei sat on one of the beds while Dean slept a little more, and Sam sat at the little table centered in the room, freshly showered, pouring over something on his laptop. Probably doing research. She stood up and joined him at the table, he glanced up at her and she smiled. She made sure she had his full attention and spell-signed the word 'H-E-L-L-O'. He smiled, he knew what it was. He had memorized most of the ASL alphabet in the car.

"Hello, to you too." He paused, not returning his attention to whatever it was he had been doing. "Do you know what you're going to want to do today? While we are out." She shrugged at his question. "You might want to stay inside, if you don't come with us. There have been quite a few people going missing. _It is_ why we are here." She frowned, turning to her notebook again to respond. 'Do you think it might be like what happened to me?' Sam shook his head.

"The more I think about it, the less I think so. So far, you're the only person that we have heard of from California that has been spirited away like you did. Who knows though. Maybe whoever is doing this is expanding their territory and you're just the first _in that area_?" He didn't seem too sure of what he said, but it was an idea. She nodded understanding that it was up in the air.

'Do you think it might be a bad idea if I go with you when you guys go out to do your thing? I don't want to get in the way.' Sam thought a moment before responding to her, "I think it would be okay, you might have to stay in the car though." She didn't seem to like that idea and grimaced. After spending so much time in a car, who could blame her. "You don't have the credentials like we do, and that might make people clam up. It won't make the case any easier. The more information we can get the better chance we have of solving whatever is going on." His forehead creased a little, as if he were in some sort of internal struggle.

"When we get you home, depending on how things are there, we might have to ask you a few uncomfortable questions. They might seem, cruel or heartless. Just keep in mind, no matter what it is, we are trying to help. You understand that, right?" She stared at him a little wide eyed. She was startled by him, bringing her own case up. He was searching her face for understanding but instead got a face full of apprehension. Her hand over her chest, clutching her shirt a little. She hadn't been expecting that. What could have happened at home that would cause them to have to interview her like that? He noticed her newfound worry. And quickly tried to mend the situation.

"Not that I'm saying _anything bad_ has happened! I just want to clear all the bases before we get there. I want you to understand what we do, and why. We just want to help." He was trying to reassure her now. "Bobby has his feelers out for what could have happened at your home and what could have happened to you. We haven't heard anything from him though, so it's probably okay."

She seemed to visibly calm down and sighed. She had felt her heart sink when she thought that something could have happened. It was still sinking, she hadn't thought that something bad could have happened until this very moment. _Sam_ thought something bad could have happened, that was enough to worry her.

With how he and his brother reacted to her and how she showed up, they might be the ones to know what could have happened. They hadn't shown any sign of real worry until now. Had they been trying to hide it from her? Did they really think she might not have a home to go back to? She remembered Sam had said that back when she had first appeared. She hadn't paid it any mind thinking they were just making things up. She had been too lost and confused about where she was and how she got there to really take in anything they had said to heart. She remembered now.

Even if Sam was just talking in theory, she _really_ wanted to go home now, to make sure for herself that everything was okay. She pondered it for what felt like an eternity, decided in the end that it was what she was going to do. She felt she had no choice. She would just have to wait until they left. She could say she was going to stay in the room, tired of being in the car for so long, for the day while they went out, and try to make her own way home.


	5. Touched for the very first time? Part 1

Chapter 5

Touched for the very first time?

Part 1

Mei had to admit she hadn't thought her plan through quite enough before leaving the Motel room. She had all her things with her, except her blanket and pillow, those had been left in the backseat of the impala. The men were currently out with it. Dean had gotten a few more hours of sleep after they had first checked in. He had been the least rested out of the three. The brothers got ready not long after he woke up. Dressing up in suits of all things. Mei thought it was quite professional. If anything, they looked like they were going to church.

"Alright, make sure you lock the doors and stay inside. Wouldn't want you to go missing too." Dean half joked when he and Sam were ready to leave. "We should be back pretty soon, we're just interviewing one place today after we check in with the local law enforcement. See you soon." Sam said before closing the door behind him and his brother, a few seconds later she could hear them get into their car and drive off. She scrambled to get her things together and made her own way out. She had decided beforehand, to leave a note:

 _Hey guys,_

 _Sorry, and don't worry. I decided to leave and try to get home on my own. Thank you so much for helping me as much as you both have. Bobby too. It was awesome meeting all of you, as weird as it was. But this is just too weird for me and I really should be getting home._

 _You can send my blanket and pillow that I left in the car with the rest of my things from Bobby's. I'll send Bobby the money for shipping._

 _Thanks again, it was fun I guess. I don't know if your good at what you do but I hope so. Stay safe and find those girls, get them home._

She hadn't been sure what to write as a signoff. So, she did what she usually did when writing letters to her friends:

 _Tootles,_

 _Mei_

She then folded it in half and wrote in large bold letters, so it would be the first thing they saw:

 _ **Don't worry! I didn't get kidnapped!**_

She left it on the table next to Sam's laptop, making sure the note would be hard to miss.

She wasn't sure if she felt bad for how she left. They had been kind to her, and were even trying to learn sign language. Maybe it was just to try to get her to feel comfortable around them. It had started to kind of work, if that were the case. She felt bad, it couldn't be helped, but she kept repeating in her mind that she had to get back home. She grumbled, they had still refused to let her have her phone, so she couldn't use that to help her get home. That was annoying. What did they think that someone was tracing her phone calls?

After what Sam had said earlier, about how something could have happened with her home, she felt her want turn into an urgent need. The need to make sure everything was alright. She briskly walked away from the motel room and to the front office. She wrote down her question for the clerk. 'Where was the nearest bus or train station?' He seemed confused, and she had to write down that she was deaf. A lie, but it made it easier for people to understand why she was writing down her questions instead of verbally asking them. He told her where to go, even handing her a free map of the city.

She, however, wasn't known for her good sense of direction, and asking for directions, given her verbal predicament, was awkward. _That and_ she was known for being stubbornly independent sometimes. She found herself on a bench, trying to get her bearings on the map. It was starting to get darker now. Where had the day gone? Had Sam and Dean gotten her note yet? She wondered if they were looking for her. She hoped they didn't find her while she was trying to make an escape. That _would_ be awkward.

She finally decided to ask someone for help, there was a city worker, or he looked like it anyways. He had a dark blue jumpsuit and was doing something to a manhole cover. She gently patted him on the shoulder and he seemed to get agitated, straightening out, towering over her. She pointed on the map, where the clerk had circled where the station was. He was much taller than she was and quirked a thick brow to her. "What do you want?" He asked gruffly. Gosh, _rude_. Mei thought.

'I'm lost and need directions to the nearest train station. Or bus.' She handed him the notebook and he seemed interested in her now for some reason now. He had creepily sniffed the air and smiled. He was starting to seriously creep her out, he completely ignored what she had written down. She reached to take her notebook back but felt a sharp pain on the back of her head. Her vision started to blacken out and she felt herself fall, both physically and to unconsciousness. Great, she was going to get kidnapped, _for real_ , was the last thing she thought before everything went blank.

Earlier that day, back at the motel, Sam had been dropped off at their room. Dean left to get them all food. Sam found Mei's note right away and read it, calling Dean not long after.

"What's up? She doesn't like pickles?" Dean answered.

"She's not here." Sam replied. "She left a note. Pretty much says 'Thanks for helping but I got to go home'. Even says not to worry."

"So, she's gone? Are we sure it's her that left the note?"

"Yeah, pretty sure. It's her handwriting. First thing you see is 'Don't worry. I didn't get kidnapped'." He paused. "Is that really what it says?" Dean tried to hide his amusement. "That's what it really says Dean. Should we go after her?" Sam could practically hear Dean thinking on the other end.

"Nah, she's a grown up, she can make her own choices. We can always check on her once we're done with this job. At least she left a note, we know she didn't get snatched." Sam agreed, somewhat disappointed. He was worried it could have been because of what he had said earlier that morning. She had looked very worried afterward. If something happened to her it would probably be his fault.

"Okay so two burgers instead of three, and we don't have to worry about asking for a better room. It's just the two of us again." Dean announced over the phone. Sam tried to hide his worry, Dean had been asleep when he had caused Mei to panic. He would have to tell him when he got back with the food. "Yeah, hey I'm going to start doing some research on this thing, whatever it is. See you in a bit." He hung up the phone and did as he said he was going to.

Dean had gotten the food and was on his way to the Motel room from the car when he saw the clerk coming towards him. He looked like he wanted to tell him something, even going so far as to wave him down before he went into the room. Dean waited patiently, food in his arms.

"Hey so that girl you were with left earlier today, I wasn't sure if she let you know or not but she asked me for directions on a notebook. Said she was deaf. It was weird. She okay to be out on her own?" The clerk gave the impression that he thought she was helpless. Dean was a little more reassured that she had left on her own. If anything, this was more proof of that.

"Yeah, we were just road tripping together and she got news from home, had to leave sooner than we thought. It's cool, thanks for letting us know though." Dean dismissed himself from the conversation by making his way into the room. Sam was in the room, on his laptop like Dean thought he would be. They discussed the case and concluded that whatever was taking these girls, wanted them because they were virgins. Dean had even stolen a diary, from when they had interviewed Penny's sister. Penny being the girl that had disappeared from the plane. They ate their food in near silence. Dean going over the note Mei had left.

"Maybe you should have just given her phone back to her." Dean announced through bites of his burger, the note in his free hand. "If she had her phone we could text her to ask her if she's okay. Even if something other than human was on the other end of her messages, we could have just faced whatever it was." He noticed that Sam looked guilty at his statement.

"I think it's my fault she left. I told her we might have to interview her if something had happened at her home when we did get her there. She got really worried." Sam confessed. Dean wasn't surprised. "We were just doing what we thought was best. Don't feel guilty about it. I think she was going to go anyways." Sam nodded, a little reassured. "I guess we won't have to learn sign language after all. We can check on her after we're all done here." He glanced at Sam after throwing his wrapper away. This seemed to help make his little brother feel better. "Yeah." The younger Winchester replied as he resumed his research.

They did this for the rest of the day, trying to find more similar cases and how far back they went. They went to bed and woke up early the next morning, like the always did. Dean had taken out Mei's pillow and blanket, putting them on his bed in the motel, folded neatly. He didn't know why he had done it. He was sure that Mei would have been in his back seat for at least a little while longer. It didn't feel right to have them back there without her.

After breakfast, they got a call from the P.D. that a girl had been attacked the night before, she was now in the hospital, currently getting stitches. A victim that got away was always a good witness to whatever they might be hunting. They interviewed her and found out that she didn't _exactly_ fit the profile. _She wasn't a virgin_. Though she claimed that it hadn't counted. Much to Dean's amusement and Sam's chagrin.

They avoided talking about Mei unless they felt the need to. Sam had asked why Dean had her blankets and pillow on his bed, like he was a creep for putting them there. "Look, I didn't like seeing them in the backseat without her. It was weird, and you know I like to keep the impala clean." Dean defended. Sam shrugged it off, he could tell that his brother had liked her company too. For the little amount of time that they had known her, she had seemed like someone they would have liked to have around. It was probably for the best that she went home though. They weren't known for being able to keep their friends and family alive.

They had already started pinning up all the information they had gathered so far on the motel wall. Sam was at a loss, getting frustrated about his search. His search parameters, fire, claws, flying, stealing virgins, and gold, kept sending him to World of Warcraft fan sites. He announced this to Dean, who had no idea what it meant. Dragons. Everything that he searched kept sending to sites about dragons. Was it even possible? They had never heard that dragons existed. Dean called Bobby to make sure.

Bobby stated that dragons weren't even real. He had little to no information on them. Dean asked him to humor him, to do what he could. Bobby then asked how Sam and Mei were doing. If Sam had caught onto any of his lies. Dean let him know that everything was fine. That Mei had left, leaving a note stating that she went of her own accord, and that Sam said hey. He didn't give Bobby time to reply hanging up the phone. Sam asked if Dean was okay. Dean brushed off his brother's worry and Sam returned to looking through his father's journal.

Sam felt a sense of déjà vu flipping through the pages, Dean made a comment about there not being anything about dragon's in the journal. He would have remembered. Sam told dean about his sense of déjà vu, asking if they had hunted a skin-walker lately. Dean got uncomfortable and lied as best as he could, which was well. Commenting that Sam's eggs were still a little scrambled from coming back was all. Sam agrees reluctantly and Dean is saved by his cell phone ringing. It was Bobby. He had information about a person he knew that specialized in Medieval Studies in San Francisco.

"Dr. Visyak, S.F.U. got it. Hey send me Mei's address she left with her stuff. Yeah, I know it could be dangerous. I'm just swinging by to make sure she got home okay. Yeah. Thanks." Dean Hangs up with Bobby and turns to Sam.

"Alright I'm going to San Francisco, figure out how to kill these things. You figure out where they are." He grabbed his coat and was putting it on when Sam asked, "W-wait. Did bobby say where they like to park?" Dean shook his head. "No." Sam sighed, "Great. Back to the lore."

"Which says what? That they live in Middle-Earth?"

"No, Caves." Sam replied. Dean was at a loss as to how to remark sarcastically.

"You're such a nerd." He blurted reaching for the door.

"Tell Mei I say 'Hi' if you see her!" Sam called out before Dean shut the door behind him, leaving for San Francisco.

Somewhere else in Portland, Mei didn't know where, at least she hoped she was still in Portland. Based off her _recent experience_ , she could be anywhere. This was nowhere near as comfortable, to be spirited away to, as a bed though. It was dark, cold, hard, damp and smelled bad. She hadn't been spirited away though, she remembered that much. She had been hit on the head, knocked out, and probably taken there, wherever there was. There were other women there with her. She didn't know how long she had been there, or how long she had been unconscious. It had been over a day now, she felt somewhat sure of that.

When she had woken up she was surrounded by a small group of women. All scared and wondering if she was even alive. One of them she felt she might recognize. It was Penny. Sam had had a picture of her amongst his research for the missing peoples case, the one he and his brother came to Portland to investigate. She was dirty, a little bloody, and looked very tired. She seemed to be the most alert out of the group. She was the one asking if she was okay. Mei checked but she didn't have her notebook with her anymore. Or any of her other things. She tested to see if any of them understood sign language. No luck. Like always they assumed she was deaf. She had to point to her ears and gave some thumbs up, meaning they worked fine. They understood. She tried standing but found her surroundings were too low to stand in, a thick grate just overhead. Her head was still throbbing from the hit earlier, so she gave up trying to find a way out rather quickly.

Penny had been trying to find a way to open the grate when they could all hear a whooshing sound, the sound of large flapping wings. Mei didn't know what these men were, if they were even men. But they had wings. She was trying to not freak out from that fact alone. The man, or whatever, had a girl in his arms. Another victim. She wore a white dress and had long dark hair. She cried for him to let her go. He told her to shut up. This wasn't the same man she had been trying to get directions from. She still didn't know how many of them there were, but for sure there were two at least. This one opened the grate and pulled the newcomer from the arm, forcefully. She tried to resist and Mei could hear a spine chilling crunch of her arm being broken.

"Shut up, or I'll break the other one. Now, get in there. Come on." He threatened and demanded all in one sentence. She had no choice but to obey, hopping down and having the grate shut above her. Penny quickly came to her side and tried to console her, checking her arm. Mei watched as the man gripped the grate where the latch was located, he gripped it and his grossly clawed hand seemed to glow like a poker did under extreme heat. Soon the steel started to glow as well and she could feel the hot air radiating from it. He was welding the steel with his _bare hands_. They were not going to be able to get out. Mei kept wondering if she was dreaming. There was no way any of this was real, but it felt so real. Her throbbing head and aching body protested as she made her way to Penny and the girl.

"It's okay. It's gonna be okay." Penny was saying, trying to console the weeping girl. Mei thought maybe she was trying to tell herself that more than the new girl. She wondered if Sam and Dean were still looking for these women. Would they even know what to do with whatever it was that their kidnappers were? What were they? Science experiments gone wrong? Was it like X-men, human evolution at work?

She had heard of weird things going on, but it was all tabloid worthy. Weekly World News discovering Vampire boy tabloid kind of tabloid. She usually paid it no mind. One of her friends was completely fascinated by it. He was heartbroken when it's last printed issue was out in 2007. He still followed strange stories though. So, she usually heard about weird things that happened more than she cared to. Now that she was in one of those tabloid worthy situations, she wished she had paid more attention to her friend.

Mei wondered if she would be able to fight them, whenever they let them out. _If_ they let them out. Based on how easily it snapped the poor girls arm, Mei guessed that they had more than human strength along with its other weird traits. She really didn't want to die like this. No matter what, even with as scared as she was, she told herself she would put up a fight. She still had to go home after all.

It took Dean about nine and a half hours to get from Portland to San Francisco. The drive not nearly as fun as it had been with Sam and Mei. Thinking of Mei, Bobby had texted him her address a while ago. It was about a two-hour drive from where he had to go to meet Dr. Visyak, Southward. He hoped it wouldn't be too hard to find. He planned his route, after he was done with the doctor, he could go right away.

When Bobby had texted him he also let him know that there were no missing person's reports in the area where Mei lived. She had been gone from home for about three days now, at the most. No one had said anything. So, either that wasn't unusual or there was _no one_ to report her missing. He wondered if she seemed the type to just leave home for days at a time. He couldn't tell, he hadn't really gotten to know her all that well in the short time she had been in his company. The communication barrier hadn't helped any.

It was around 4 or 5 in the afternoon when Dean finally arrived at Dr. Visyak's. She almost hadn't let him in, if he hadn't mentioned that Bobby had sent him he probably would have had to make an appointment. It was from her that Dean learned that dragons had in fact been around, just over seven hundred years ago. She told him he would need a blade, one forged with dragon's blood. The irony did not fly over him. That he would need to first kill one in order to make the weapon to kill one. She informed him that she had one in her basement.

It was a real sword in the stone. Much to Dean's frustration he was not able to dislodge it from the large bolder it was embedded in. He put all the effort he could with his own strength and failed. He had an idea though. He just wasn't sure if Dr. Visyak would like it, much less agree to it.

Back at the motel room in Portland, Sam was at a loss as to where the dragon could be roosting. So, he called the only man he knew that might have an idea. Bobby. He could tell right away, from how Bobby answered the phone, that he was still distant with him. Sam still lost as to why.

"What are the parameters?" The elder hunter asks gruffly.

"Caves, basically. But there's nothing around for miles." Sam responded.

"So, less literal, then. What else you got local that's cold hard and wet?"

"Huh. Well, um… There's no subway lines. Sewers. That could be it. Thanks." He wondered why he hadn't thought of it before.

"All right." Bobby was going to hang up already but Sam wanted to keep talking to him, to try to figure out what was wrong. "Wait, bobby. Wait. Um… You okay?" He asked. Bobby is kind of taken aback by the question. He responds as best as he can. Trying to convince himself that it hadn't really been Sam that had tried to kill him. He tried putting Sam's mind back on the case. Bobby ends the conversation once he tells Sam that what was bothering him, couldn't have had anything to do with him, because he had been gone.

Sam is not satisfied, so he prays to Castiel. He tricks the angel into telling him what had happened the year and a half he had been gone. Why Bobby and Dean were being so weird around him, obviously keeping things from him. He knew the angel was very naïve. And it worked. After an awkward attempt at hugging him all Sam had to tell him was that Bobby had told him everything that happened and that he just needed Cass to fill in the blanks.

"You know what? I-I-I don't like this at all." Dean had been right about Dr. Visyak not liking his idea. "You do realize that this is the single most valuable artifact you have ever touched." She protested as they both briskly walked back to her basement. Dean had a duffle full of who knows what to try to get the sword out. No matter what it was it was making her very nervous.

"it's also the only weapon we got. Look, I know what I'm doing okay?" He turned to her trying to reassure her. "I actually learned it all from Bobby. Hey, whatever happened there, you know he's at least a genius at this. Do you want me to kill that dragon or not?" He could tell that she was still hesitating.

"Okay." She finally sighed, knowing lives were at stake. In the end, she regretted agreeing to letting him anywhere near her precious sword. The Sword of Brunswick, was ruined. Shattered after Dean placed and detonated C4 on the bolder that held it. It looked like the Narsil, the broken sword from Lord of the Rings that the elves had kept in Rivendell. She was sure no elves were going to re-forge her treasure for her though. She let Dean take it, hoping it would at least still work to take down a dragon or two.

Dean left feeling bad about breaking the sword, but more so about not having more length on the blade. With how it was now, he would have to face the dragon up close and personal to even cut it. Slaughtering it would be a whole other ball park. He thought of this as we made his way to the town where Mei lived. The two-hour drive went by rather quickly with little to no traffic getting out of the bay area. Which was a little surprising, it being a weekend and all.

He made it to the town with no problem, night out already so he quickly got his bearings of the area and made his way to her home. He had her phone with him and was using some of the photos as reference to find where she might be. Many pictures were from a restaurant he assumed she worked at. The Szechwan Chinese Kitchen. He passed it as he made it to the road that lead to her house. There were red and blue light reflecting off every surface. The police were there, investigating. Pulling to the curb of what was a neighbor's house he looked to it. Knowing instantly that he would have to do more than just swing by to see if she was okay.

The windows were broken and there was police tape all over. Along with actual police officers. Bobby hadn't heard anything, he probably would now. This was this probably going to be on the news later if not that night. He called Bobby to give him some heads up that there might be a call. Still sitting in the impala.

"Hey Bobby, look, I made it to Mei's place and it looks like something went down. I don't know what but the windows are busted and there's police all over." Bobby, conveyed that he understood and would be ready for a call. Dean then hung up and made his way to the scene, his badge ready to go. He played the part of FBI, as he did most times. His excuse being that he was in town visiting family and had been out for a drive when he came across the scene.

The police were not hard to get by, even with his lame reason for being there. There were no bodies. There was nothing, just a mess. The inside of the house looked like a small tornado went through it. Obvious signs of struggles. Dean's ability to track, his instinct, kicking in. There were fights, multiple of them, fist sized holes punched into walls along with cracks. Signs that someone, or more than someone, had gotten slammed into the walls hard enough to break the plaster.

"This is a damn shame." Dean could over hear one of the officers. "They own the Szechwan, right? I hope they're okay. They make damn good food."

"Any clues to where they might be? They have a," the hunter paused reaching for a photo of Mei to show them. "a daughter, right? Any idea on where she might be?"

"No, no, she's uh their niece, I think. Might even be a foster kid. Never heard the story of how she ended up with them. Six uncles." The officer chuckles a bit. "She doesn't talk much. I think she's deaf. Pretty good kid though. She works with them at the restaurant. But no, no news on where she might be. This was barely called in about an hour ago. It was actually one of her friends that called it in. A Miss Rebecca Blunt." Dean remembered the name from when Sam had first gone through her phone. She had been the Chris Tucker tone, asking about going to the movies.

"Apparently, Miss Blunt had come here to check on her friend, the niece, Mei Xinyi. That hadn't been replying to any of the messages she sent. When she had come that time, earlier this week, the Uncles had told her that Mei had left town, to visit family and that she would be back by this weekend. She came back, today, and found this mess. The uncles nowhere to be found." Dean pondered a moment.

"So, she never came back." He said thinking more of Mei coming back from Portland, than what the officer had said. Had the uncles known what had happened to Mei? Maybe they had played a part in it. The officer responded anyways, "Looks like it." He sighed, rubbing the back of his head. Not knowing where to start. "There must have been one hell of a struggle. To make this amount of damage." Dean nodded and made his way to another part of the house. Passing rooms that were just as damaged as previous rooms. It looked like the fights had been all over the house. One room caught his attention. It was Mei's room. He was sure of it. It was the _girliest_.

"Looks like she packed up most of her stuff." One of the officers there piped up when Dean stepped in. He pointed to the closet and drawers, all in different states of openness, mostly bare except for a few articles. A sock here and a top there. This is where all her stuff had come from, when it had shown up with her in the motel room back in Sioux Falls. He had been right. It looked like a normal room for a normal person, other than the mess and missing things. There was even a dog bed. Probably for that Corgi she had a picture of in her phone.

"Was there a dog here?" Dean asked no officer in particular. "What?" one of them notices Dean is motioning to the dog bed. "No, we didn't find any dogs, she must have taken it with her." The officer then took out his notebook from his breast pocket. "Says here, her car is missing too." He answered. Dean was sure he would have remembered if a dog had come with her to their motel room. Must be with the uncles, where ever they were.

"Well, beside the damage, it looks like they all just up and left after a scuffle of some sort." The officer he had first introduced himself to, came to Dean. "All of the vehicles are nowhere on the property or anywhere in town as far as we can tell. None of the neighbors saw anything strange either. The family here usually keeps to themselves when they aren't working at the restaurant." Dean wondered if that could be where Mei was, if she had gotten into town at all. By the sound of it no one had seen her or her family for a few days now. He thought it was unlikely she was back.

As he made his way to the impala he called Sam to let him know what he had found out. "She's not here, or not here yet. I donno. Maybe she's still in Portland or on her way here. Either way her house is pretty much abandoned, it looks like there was a fight and they left. No one is here but cops, not even the dog."

"Do you think she could have been taken by the dragon over here?" Sam asked the first thing that came to mind. She had been out in the area alone so it was possible. "You think she's a virgin too? Like the other victims." Dean questioned after a moment of thought. He didn't think so but he couldn't say he was sure. He was reminded that they didn't really know her all that well. He hoped that she was okay though, and that they would see her again soon. Dean had to start to make his way back to Portland, he would have to come back to California with Sam after they solved the case with the dragons. They had investigating to do both there and here. And for whatever happened here, Mei seemed to be the only lead.


	6. Touched for the very first time? Part 2

Chapter 6

Touched for the very first time?

Part 2

After a few hours night's sleep in the impala, Dean made the 11-hour drive back to Portland. He had told Sam that Mei had not in fact made it home yet. What he _hadn't_ told Sam was the state the sword they were supposed use to slay the dragon. He was a little embarrassed to admit what he had done over the phone. It had been his fault that it was in the condition it was, what with using the C4 as he had. He had a strong feeling his brother would not be very happy about its condition. He would cross that bridge when he came to it.

Sure enough, when Dean did show Sam the blade, the younger brother was dumbfounded.

"And what are we supposed to do with this, Dean? Give it a booster shot?" He said sarcastically. Dean informed him that it meant they would just have to get a little closer. He also asked where they were on the caves. His little brother let him know what there were _no caves_. That the dragon was probably in the sewers. The youngest Winchester then showed his elder brother a map. Two of the disappearances happened within a mile of a point he indicated.

"So, I think we start there and work out way around." He continued. Dean didn't look very happy about it. "Awesome. Who doesn't love sewers?" Sarcasm seeping from him now. "let's go." He then motioned for them to go but Sam paused, looking like he had something to say. Dean asked him, "What?" Everything that Cass had let him know weighing heavily on his chest. But right now, was not the right time. "Nothing. Uh, yeah, let's go."

They made their way to the sewers and searched for what felt like hours. The cold and stinky dampness making them even more uncomfortable. Dean was tired and frustrated. Sleeping in the impala was okay, but it wasn't exactly restful. They did what they had to do sometimes but it didn't mean they always liked it.

"Ugh! God. Just when I get used to a smell, I hit a new flavor. Dude, we have been here for hours. There is nothing. I think the lore is off." He paused having a quick idea. "Hey, what if, uh… What if dragons like nice hotels?" He looked to Sam who had his eyes locked on something else in the tunnel. "What is that?" He asked, getting his brothers attention. "What?" Dean followed his flashlight beam to a pile of gold items. Necklaces, bracelets, watches, and who knew what else.

"Holy crap." With the realization, Dean kneels and picks up a shiny gold watch, examining it and already gaging its value. "Okay, maybe there are dragons here." Dean states, then he starts to stuff his pockets. Sam is somewhat disbelieving.

"Wait. Dean… Not now. Check this out." He motions for Dean to follow him, leading them to an alter where there is a leather-bound book along with other relics. Plates with what looked like bones and candles. "A little arts-and-crafty for a giant bat, right?" He scoffs some and notices that something else has Dean's attention. Following his gaze, he finds a familiar looking backpack. A smaller one next to it. "Isn't this…?" Dean starts as begins to pick it up, even the weight was familiar. "Mei's?" Sam finishes for him. Then they hear a distant voice.

"Hello? Is someone there? Hello? Can you please help us?" They followed the voice to find a group of women, trapped under the grates of the sewer. Mei perked up right away. She and the men made eye contact and she seemed relieved for a second before looking scared. She wanted to tell them that they weren't facing a regular human kidnapper. How would she tell them though? She felt she was running out of time. The kidnappers could be back at any second.

"Hey. We're gonna get you out." Dean said as he and Sam kneeled to examine how exactly they were trapped there. Mei soon found that Penny was thinking along the same lines that she was.

"Quick. He's coming back." Dean nodded, understanding. "Okay" He said. Sam was trying to pry the grate free with a crowbar, to get them out, then he was yanked backwards and out of Mei's sight. Dean quickly turned on his heel pulling something Mei couldn't see out of his duffle. Maybe a gun? She wasn't sure what it was but hoped that whatever it was would work against these things.

"Where do you think you're gonna stick that?" It was one of the kidnappers, with his statement she realized Dean had brought a blade of some kind. Why not bring a gun? What the hell were the brothers thinking? Mei felt herself get even more nervous for the two of them. She thought they had no idea what they were facing. Then there was a startled cry from one of them as they charged each other. A hacking sound telling her Dean had cut her captor.

"Where did you get that?" The man, or whatever he was, sounded surprised and Mei could hear his skin sizzle. He hadn't been expecting to get cut. " _Comic-Con._ " Dean stated sarcastically. Mei didn't know if this was the right time to try to be funny. _It was kind of funny though_. She thought maybe it was Dean's coping mechanism.

The elder Winchester was charged again and whatever weapon he had had was knocked out of his grip and into another area with grates, out of sight. Mei let out a startled yell, along with a few of the other women that were watching. The thing was approaching Dean with his glowing hand, she knew his touch was hot enough to melt the steel of the cage she was currently in. Luckily Sam distracted it by hitting it in the back of the head with his weapon, hard. Dean jumped to his stomach to reach for the sword. It was _just_ out of his reach.

"Come on, _come on_." Dean chanted, reaching as far as he could, straining his arm down. He could hear Sam fighting with the dragon. It had grabbed his crowbar and was heating it up and he had to keep moving his grip lower as to not get burned. Dean is then grabbed by another dragon. Sam runs out of crowbar to hold and kicks the dragon he is facing in the chest giving him time to jump for the blade. His arm being longer than Dean's, he grasps it. Dean is holding his own in his fight with his dragon at least he thinks so until it's hand starts glowing.

Sam trying to think of the best plan of action, to slay the dragon he is facing or the one now wanting to cook his brother. He slashes at his own opponent getting it in the arm, causing it to jump backwards and away from him, before running to stab the one his brother is facing. A bright light and what looks like his veins glowing from the attack as the dragon is stabbed in the back by Sam. Then falling to the ground, motionless, dead.

There was a familiar whooshing sound and gust of wind as the other one made its escape. Sam and Dean are still gasping for air when they get back to setting the women free. They help each of them out, having to wait before actually prying the grate open, because the crowbar had still been very hot. Last out of the pit was Mei, she just stared at them, mouth agape. Still surprised by what they had done. Penny looked back to them after she had gotten out.

"She doesn't talk. She tried signing to us but none of us understood her." She said regretfully. Dean held out an arm for Mei, heaving her up and out like he had the others. Sam smiled, glad she was at least okay.

"Oh, we know. She's with us." The younger brother said handing her small backpack to her, carrying her bigger one. Penny made an expression of understanding then turned back to the other victims. They lead the victims out of the sewers and out into what they felt was the freshest air they had ever breathed. Even Mei with her surprise still intact, breathed deep. Dean having called the police, telling the women that help would be there soon to get them home. Sam commented something about her needing a new notebook as they got to their car.

They drove to the motel, that they hadn't changed, Mei didn't really care to notice. She was dazed and so full of questions. When she had finally gotten her hand on something to write one she asked them what had happened. "Dragons." Dean answered bluntly, taking a swig of his beer. Mei stared at him disbelieving, then her eyes grew even wider when she realized he wasn't joking.

'Dragons are real?' She wrote down, they sighed. There went their plans to keep her in the dark about what exactly was out there. She imagined they looked like parents having to explain where babies came from, for the umpteenth time, as they explained everything. Vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters, even demons, and everything in between. They hunted all of it. It was what they did, how they helped people. They traveled across the United States and back again, over and over, to save people from these things. _These_ were their cases.

'That's why you guys weren't freaking out about how I showed up.' Mei stated, they shrugged, kind of agreeing. 'Has this happened to you before?' She asked after they had read the first note. "Not _exactly_ , but we have seen _weirder_." Sam answered honestly. Dean nodded, twirling the lip of his bottle between his fingers.

"We thought you left for home." Dean said after a moment, giving Mei time to let things sink in. She nodded, and grimaced. They had been right. It had been too dangerous for her to leave the room. At least she wasn't taken the minute she stepped out of the door. If she hadn't gotten lost, she probably would have made it home already. She sighed and looked to the brothers. Dean was eyeing her questioningly. She could tell he was thinking something, she just couldn't tell what. She quirked a brow.

'What?' She asked, and Sam noticed for the first time how Dean was looking at her. He realized what he was thinking. "Dean, no." Sam warned, but Dean blurted it out anyways. "You know, dragons only have a thing for virgins." Mei was lost for a moment before turning all kinds of shades of pink and rose. She did the first thing without even thinking. She blew a raspberry at him and started to sign quickly, agitated. Defending her choice even though they couldn't understand. They couldn't tell if she was angry or just flustered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay, okay, okay," Dean held his arms up in surrender chuckling. Then stopped and looked serious, too serious. She froze, feeling scared again. Sam looked a little sullen too. 'What now?' She asked. Sam answered this time. "Do you remember how I told you we might have to interview you? Dean had to go to San Francisco for the sword and he went to check on you, thinking you might have already made it home." He paused and hurried to finish before he could see her reaction. "There was no one there, they haven't been there for a couple of days. We think they may have left, why? We don't know yet."

Mei wasn't sure how to react to this. At least they didn't find them hurt or worse, right? She was trying to see the positive. She couldn't help but assume the worst on top of that though. It's what all people did, right? When they worried. Dean finished explaining everything, since he had been the one to actually see her house. He told her that state it was in, and that the police had been there. But that as far as they knew everyone had made it out, whatever had happened, they put up a fight and left.

There had been a fight? Her uncles had never gotten into a fight, ever, or at least as far as she knew. They knew how to fight but she had never known them to fight anyone, other than sparring amongst themselves. She wasn't even sure that counted. She wanted to say something but wasn't sure what to say. Then she remembered her phone.

'They never replied, did they?' She showed the note mostly to Sam. Dean was the one who took her phone out of his jacket though. She noticed just then, that it was different. Dean's jacket was not the one she remembered when they had first met.

"Look Mei," it was Sam that said something this time. It was about her phone. "I took out the SIM, a long time ago. I never put it back in. Your text never got through, and without the SIM no messages would be able to come through either." Mei was dumbfounded again, anger accompanying her surprise this time. Her uncles were gone from home, probably looking for her. They had no idea where she was. Or if she was okay. And right now, she felt she wasn't okay, she was livid.

She wasn't expecting to do anything, but she didn't fight the urge to do what she did. She swiftly stood up and smacked Sam across the face. The sound seeming to echo in the room. She was even more angry that he didn't look surprised at all. It didn't even phase him. He had been expecting it. Dean's eyes were a little wide, she turned her glare to him and he seemed to dare her to do the same to him.

"We did it to protect you. Who, or whatever, attacked your family could have gotten to you too. Monsters _are real_ Mei, and how ever you got _hocus-pocussed_ into our room _wasn't random_." Dean's tone was serious and stern. She thought they were probably right, after experience with the dragons, who knows what could have done this to her. She was still angry, and couldn't help but blame them. Maybe if her uncles had known she was okay, they would still be home. Who had attacked them though? Were they okay? Her head started to flood with questions she knew no one in the room had answers to.

After a few minutes of stillness, Mei wrote, 'So, I still can't go home?' Dean sighed again, finishing his beer. "You can go home, we won't stop you. Hell, we'll even take you. But do you want to go home, or do you want to find your family?" Sam looked regretful again but agreed with his brother.

"Whatever sent you to us, we are probably some of the few people who will know how to figure it out and handle it. Whatever _it_ is." Sam was trying to reassure her again. She felt bad for smacking him the second she did it. She had never struck someone like that before. Even though she had acted out the way she had, he was still trying to make her feel better?

'I don't feel like I really have a choice.' She wrote after a moment in thought. Nothing was waiting for her at home. Everything was gone, even Sebastian wouldn't be waiting for her there. If she returned home, there would be nothing but questions from the authorities. Questions she would not be able to answer.

"You have choices, you just have to do what you think is best for you." It was Sam that answered again. It figured the one brother she had slapped happened to be the sentimental one out of the two. She saw Dean looked like he felt bad about her situation too, but Sam seemed to be the one that could put it to words. She wanted so much to tell them that she was sure it wasn't their fault, but she was still drifting from her high of anger.

'Do you think we will be able to really find my family?' the anger from her face had finally faded to something close to discomfort. Sam grimaced again. Dean spoke up this time. "We can't guarantee it. But we sure as hell will try." He grinned this time. He was wondering why he was trying to get her to stay with them. She could stay at Bobby's, if she decided to stay. Yeah, that made sense. He admitted to himself that he liked having her in the back seat. Bobby's was defiantly safer though.

They fought monsters, they saved people, would they really go out of their way to help her find her family? Mei was mulling it all over in her head again. What was the right choice? They traveled around the country, they would cover a lot of ground if she did go with them. They had also mentioned that Bobby had a lot of contacts too. They had no trail to follow though. It was like finding a needle in a haystack. Finally, she made up her mind.

'I'll go, but I want my phone, and no more lies. Please.' She stood up and placed her note on the table where the brothers were sitting in the motel room. Keeping her hand out for the phone. Dean thought a moment, then sighed and handed it to her. She opened the case and held her hand out to Sam too. He must have the SIM.

"This is probably a bad idea." He said as handed her the SIM, that he pulled out of his breast pocket of his button up. They watched as she put it back into her phone and powered it on. It took a moment but there were messages. Most of them from her friend, Racheal. All of messages expressing worry for her. She would reply to those later, right now she wanted to see if her uncles had said anything about where they might be going.

There was just one message from them. 'DO NOT LOOK FOR US' Could there have been other messages? The logical answer was no, all of Racheal's messages had gotten through fine. She set the phone down on the table and locked herself in the bathroom, to cry. Sam and Dean looked over to her phone, frowning at the message there. "Do you think they know what's going on?" Sam asked. Dean shrugged. "They might. If anything, they are a missing piece of the _mystery puzzle_. They might not have the answer, but they could have clues."

All Mei could think as she sobbed loudly was that what she dreaded might have come true. The only people she knew as family, no longer wanted her. Why else would they not want her to find them? She couldn't think of anything else. Her sobs grew louder, and she didn't care.

"Hey, Sammy. You should go in there and try to make her feel better." Sam looked at Dean disbelieving. "It's what your good at." Dean defended. Sam gave him an incredulous expression pointing at the part of his cheek that was still a bright shade of pink from her smack. He wouldn't let Dean know but it still stung, she must have had good momentum. "Oh, uh, right." With that Dean stood up. He made his way, feeling kind of awkward as he did, to the bathroom and knocked.

"Hey Mei, can I come in?" The sobbing continued, but he was sure he could hear her scribbling something. She slid the note under the door. 'No, please just leave me alone.' The paper was a lined notebook page and some of the thin blue lines were blurred and damp from her tears. He took the note and wrote on the other side. He slid it back to her leaving a little piece on his side so he would be able to tell if she took it. She did. The sobbing slowed down, Sam tilted his head curiously. He hadn't seen what Dean had put down. Whatever it was it seemed to calm her.

It took a bit more time, but eventually the sobbing ceased and Mei opened the door. Wiping her eyes, getting the tears that had streaked her face out of the way. She signed thank you to Dean, they knew that one by now. He instinctively wrapped an arm around her shoulder, shaking her slightly, reassuringly.

"Hey, don't worry about it. We'll figure this out. It's what we do." She shuddered and surprised herself, and Dean, by reaching around him and giving him a tight hug. She felt she really needed a hug. She wasn't going to be going home and it made her chest hurt thinking about it. Dean hugged her back, giving her another reassuring squeeze. Sam smiled looking at them, he would have to ask Dean what it was he wrote on the note. He wasn't the only one good at making people feel better after all.

After a few minutes, Sam cleared his throat and handed Mei back her phone. She sniffed and took it, leaving Dean's warm hug, looking sorry as her eyes fell upon the visible handprint she could see she had left on his face. He gave her a look that said, 'all's forgiven'. She took out her notebook and wrote down her apology. He reassured that it was okay.

Dean cleared his throat as well. He felt a little uncomfortable after the hug. Why had he hugged her, he knew why he had, it wasn't weird, right? She looked like she needed it. Many of the people he ended up helping usually looked like they needed a hug, and a therapist or two, but he didn't always hug them. A few of the cute ones, sure. She hugged him first? Yeah that was it. She had hugged him first. Not hugging her back would have been rude, right?

Dean found himself straightening his jacket, Mei and Sam were going over her apology. Guess they were going to have to learn sign language after all, he thought to himself. He smiled at that thought. It would be fun. Then he remembered how dangerous their lives were, all the time. His smile faded. It might be that they would have to leave her with Bobby for the remainder of their investigation. He wondered if she would cooperate. Knowing what she knew now, would she be too scared to go with them even if he wanted her too? If she was he wouldn't be surprised.

The elder brother was lost in thought, wondering what their next steps would be when it came to Mei, when he was pulled out of his head. Mei had written something down for the both the brothers.

'Now that I have my phone, I can text both of you instead of writing down what I want to say.' Dean's reaction wasn't too surprising.

"Are you asking me for my number? I usually get a drink first." He chuckled and held his hand out to put his number into her phone. Sam did so as well, after his brother. She asked them for photos to go with their contact information. They politely refused. She felt embarrassed for a minute for asking. Sam noticed and explained that it wasn't that they didn't want to, it was just a precaution. She didn't understand how it mattered but left it alone anyway.

They made plans to go back to Bobby's. Mei agreed that it was probably a bad idea to go to her house, what with the investigation the police had going. Since her family was no longer there she had no reason to return. Not even her little Bumblebee was there, according to what Dean had said. Her keys seemed to jingle sadly in her makeshift purse as she went through it. Her stomach was in knots. Would her life ever get back to normal? She wondered as she offered a stick of gum to the men. Her mouth had been dry and she realized she hadn't eaten anything since the dragons had taken her.

They made their way to the car, duffels and Mei's things in tow. They were in the process of putting all of it in the trunk and back seat when Mei's stomach made an obnoxious squelchy groan. Everyone paused what they were doing, to look at her. She cleared her throat and smacked her lips together, heat rising to her cheeks.

"You hungry?" Dean asked bluntly. She shrugged and nodded grimacing. "I take it that Elliot and his brother didn't feed you?" She looked confused for a moment, trying to understand who he was talking about. "Elliot from Pete's Dragon, it's the name _of the dragon_." He explained. She makes an _oh_ face in understanding now, she probably hadn't seen that since she was six or seven years old. She nodded, the dragons hadn't fed her or the others they had captured. Sam sighed, seeming to dislike that they hadn't fed her. Dean closed the trunk smiling.

"Then, let's eat!" They all climbed into the car, Sam had already put her blanket and pillow in the back seat like they had them the last time they rode together. "But let's find somewhere out of town." Dean said as they started to pull out of the parking lot. A line of police cars with their sirens blaring sped in front of them, to where they knew they had left the other victims.

They left town and ate at the next McDonald's, a tall pile of fries shared amongst all of them. Mei had to remember to pace herself or she would get sick from shoving food down her gullet. Two and a half burgers later, Dean finished the half she didn't, she felt stuffed. Going so far as to pat her belly and letting out a content sigh. Sam was taking a sip from his drink watching her and his brother. Both had gotten a small pile of burgers, he however, had gotten a salad.

Since their last trip with her, he had learned that she was somewhere in between the two brothers when it came to their choice in diet. Sometimes she liked her food light and healthy, like oatmeal and salad, and at other times she liked her food heart clingingly heavy, like burgers and fries. Sam liked fries too, he did, but Mei and Dean seemed to have an affinity for them. They were currently arguing over which were better, the soggy or the crunchy ones.

"The crunchy ones are better because they have that perfect," Dean then bit into one, "crunch. That and the potato has a different flavor. A _better_ flavor." Mei shook her head and lifted a very soggy fry from the pile. It was limp between her fingertips she put it in her mouth and texted as she chewed. 'I'm not saying that the crunchy ones aren't good, BUT the soggy ones help the salt cling to them and the insides are just deliciously juicy. Like a pierogi.'

"What about the perfect fry? One in between." Sam piped in, lifting one from the pile. He bit half of it, the outside crispy and the inside soft and steamy. 'Touché' Mei texted and got one herself dipping it into some ketchup. Dean just scoffed and got about three of four fries stuffing them into his mouth not paying attention to what level off crispy or soggy they were. Mei laughed and Sam grimaced.

After their meal, it was already dark out, they started their long drive back to Bobby's. They let Mei sleep in the backseat for the night, she fell asleep almost instantly. Dean said it was probably a food coma. The brothers took turns driving as they usually did. In the morning, on one of the times they pulled over they took the opportunity to call Bobby. They let him know that they were on their way back, and that they had Mei with them. They told him about what Dean had found at Mei's house after going to Dr. Visyak's.

"Good thing I never shipped out her stuff. Speaking of her stuff, I think some more of it showed up." Bobby grunted and there were some sounds they could only identify as something jumping on him then the same something with claws running around on the wood floor of his home. "Dang it, sit would you!" The elder hunter shouted away from the phone. There was a bark in response. "Good boy, good boy." Bobby then cooed.

"Wait, her dog is there?" Sam asked leaning against the impala. "That's what the collar says. Has her name and address on it." Sam smiled. He was sure Mei would be happy to see her dog at least. "When did it get there?" Dean asked. He wasn't a big fan of dogs. Sam was the one that loved the furry fleabags.

"Best I can tell, night before last." Dean nodded then asked, "That night was when I went to her house. Think there's a connection?" There was a pause on the other end, he was playing with the dog. "Could be. Wasn't able to catch the thing till this morning. Had to lure it into the house with some kibble."

"Did you check it?" Dean asked. There was a heavy throaty sigh. "Yeah I checked it. I'm not on an idjit, idjit. Made sure it's water was holy water and checked it with silver too."

"Any more of her stuff show up with the dog?" Sam was the one asking this time. "Not as far as I can tell, found the dog runnin' round in the scrap yard though, been trying to catch'm ever since. Haven't had the chance to get a good look yet."

"Okay, well, let us know if you find anything else." Dean said then hung up. They got the car and hit the road again. "Do you think more of her stuff is just going to keep showing up?" Dean asked after a few minutes on the road. Sam shrugged. "Maybe her family will show up too eventually." He thought out loud. "Yeah, maybe. Still doesn't explain what's going on." Dean retorted.

It was high noon when Mei did wake up, the brothers had pulled over again, this time to fill Baby's tank. Sam was coming back from the little mini mart facing the pumps. A large paper bag with what she hoped was food cradled in his arms. He smiled and waved, noticing she was awake now. Dean noticed Sam's greeting and bent down to say hello through her window.

"Heya sleeping beauty." he said after he opened her door. "You ready to eat?" She quickly fetched her phone from her jacket pocket. 'I'm ready to pee!' She texted as she hurried past him, rushing past Sam, and into the mini mart. "She okay?" Sam asked as he reached his brother looking to where Mei had disappeared into the shop.

"Yeah, yeah, just really had to pee." Dean said closing the gas cap to the impala. "Are you going to tell her about her dog?" Sam asked Dean putting the paper bag on the front seat. "Nah, I think she'll be pleasantly surprised when we get there and sees it for herself." They then both climbed in and took a parking spot in front where Mei would see them right away when she got out.

"So, what are we going to do? With Mei?" Sam was sorting through what he had gotten in the paper bag. "I don't know, maybe leave her at Bobby's, it's probably safest, until we get this whole thing sorted out. Not sure she's hunting material." He said nonchalantly but Sam noticed a hint of disappointment when he glanced up to look at his brother's expression. He looked sad for a second too. It was the best idea though. He had to agree with it.

"Yeah, she's fun to have around." Sam admitted, continuing his search for something in the bag. Dean stared at him for a moment, not sure where it came from. "Yeah, don't want her to get hurt though. You agree she should stay with Bobby, right? She's not some lost puppy, Sam." He turned to stare at his little brother straight on. Sam looked startled for a moment. "Yeah, it's the safest place. I'm just saying, she is fun to have around. I wouldn't want her to get hurt either. Dean."

Dean was about to say something when he saw Mei hobbling toward them. Her hand over her stomach. She looked sick or in pain, maybe even both. "Hey, maybe she's not okay." Dean quickly got out of the and went to help her make the rest of the way to the car. "What's wrong? Too many soggy fries?" Dean tried to joke but looked worried. She waved him off and climbed into the back of the impala and laid down. She curled up and started to text.

'I'm okay, just have cramps.' Dean's felt awkward for second, he forgot women had those sometimes, and he showed Sam who was motioning for him to let him in on what was going on. His _oh_ face matched Dean's he had had seconds ago. "Maybe we should get a hot pack?" He asked Mei, Dean looked surprised at this. How did Sam know what would work? "Jess used to get cramps too." Sam explained without Dean having to actually ask.

'I'll be okay, thanks though. It's only for the first few days.' She smiled weakly and pulled her blanket down to cuddle it. Sam patted her shoulder and handed her a banana from the bag. She gladly took it and started to eat it. He also handed her a water bottle and motioned for his brother to follow him when he went back into the little shop for some pain killers.

"Dude she looks like she just got stabbed in the gut, minus the blood." He paused. "Never mind, there's probably blood." He grimaced thinking about it. "What did you need me here for?" He asked as Sam looked through the shelves for something, passing the Tylenol completely. "There's one of these especially for cramps." He murmured still searching. "We should get her a heated blanket or something, I know they have them with car adaptors now. That should help." Dean quirked a brow.

"Whoa, slow down _mom_. What's going on with you, your almost paternal." Sam stood up straight at this and turned to stare at his brother. "I'm just trying to help. _Do you_ want to see her in pain in the back seat the rest of the way?" The elder Winchester was going to say something but paused to think about it. Finally, he said, "Do you think they might have those at a Walmart?"


	7. Dreams and Thai Food

Chapter 7.0

Dreams & Thai Food

Mei could feel herself running, she couldn't remember why or when she had started running but there was a cold sweat running down her back. She was running from something, the dragons again? She was scared. Very, very scared. It was dark and cold, where ever she was. Was she back in the sewers again? No, she didn't think so, it didn't stink. She didn't think she would ever forget that stench. She couldn't see anything, she only knew she had to run. She couldn't shake off a deep sinking feeling in her chest, a hard knot in her gut, an unexplainable fear that turned into an ache that just seemed to spread all over.

She could feel something getting closer behind her. A sharp chill running up her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck seeming to jolt. She was sure she had gotten out, Sam and Dean had saved her, and the other girls. But there was no mistaking the damp cold walls they had been in. In the dragon's den. Right when she thought she was sure to be caught, there was a light. It was too far away. She wanted to speed up and get to the out faster but no matter how quickly she tried to pump her legs, it just seemed to shrink away in the distance. Then something jumped out at her and knocked her down. Something hot and heavy was on top of her. It was the dragon that had kidnapped her. Wasn't he dead?! Sam and Dean had killed it, hadn't they?

Her breathing grew rapid and she watched in horror as his hand began to glow inching closer to her. Her limbs didn't seem to want to work anymore. She wanted so much to fight him off but she found she couldn't as much as move her pinky. She could manage to close her eyes though and grit her teeth as she felt a searing pain in her abdomen. She wanted to yell but found that was one more thing she couldn't manage to do.

This time Mei could feel herself yelling, it was more of a quick shout and it made her jolt up from where she had been apparently laying down. Her eyes darted around, trying to figure out where she was, as a few sweat beads rolled down the side of her face. She was in the back seat of the Impala. She sighed in relief then cringed. She looked down at her stomach, the pain was still there, and the ache throughout her body. She couldn't help but sigh again, frustrated with her cramps but glad that it was just that.

She felt a chill run through her, collected herself, then noticed that her lap was super-hot and heavy. Uncomfortably so. It seemed that while she had been asleep, either Sam or Dean had gotten her a heated blanket. It was now draped over her legs and plugged into the cigarette lighter in the front seat. The men themselves were absent from the front seat. It looked like they were parked in front of what looked like a pharmacy. Mei paused a moment wondering why they were stopped here. Then a sharp pain ran through her head and she groaned as it spread from her forehead to the tips of her limbs. She was sure she was running a fever. The cold achiness of her body and throbbing head told her that much.

She shifted and moved her head to the side so she could see her reflection in the rearview mirror. Her face was flushed and her hair was a mess. A few of the raven strands pasted to the sides of her face and forehead from the sweat. She smacked her lips together, her mouth was dry and cottony. She was thirsty. She crawled out of the back seat and started to make her way towards the pharmacy. She coughed a little as she made her way through the automatic doors. There was a chime at her entrance and she noticed right away when Sam and Dean perked up from where they had apparently been crouched down. Sam more noticeable than Dean, towering over the short island.

Sam hurried to her and protested, "You shouldn't be up, you're running a fever." Mei quirked a brow at his worried tone. She took notice of what he was carrying in his arms. There were about four different kinds of thermometers, and what looked like cough syrup. A generic cough and cold remedy. She could feel another cough coming on and tried to hold her breath to keep it from coming out and ended up whirling around to cough into her sleeve to avoid coughing on Sam.

Sam couldn't help but frown at her coughing. It was a horrible gargled cough and seemed to wrack her body. Sam and Dean hadn't been in the pharmacy for even five minutes when she had walked in. They had been on the road for a while. Mei had fallen asleep in the back seat not long after admitting to them that she had lady cramps. They had noticed that she had been groaning in her sleep, seems to be having a nightmare. It wasn't too surprising after the ordeal she had gone through. It was when they had stopped for gas that they checked her over. It was Sam who noticed that she had gone pale and clammy so he had checked her for a fever.

"My bet is, that her time in the dragon's den probably got her sick. It wasn't exactly the Hamilton." She could hear Dean getting closer as he spoke, another fit of coughs overtaking her. Her head feeling very heavy then light the next second as she sucked in a breath. At this, Sam picked one of the thermometers and reached out for some cough drops. He tore it open and handed her one, a hopeful expression on his face as she took it.

"Let's get what we came for and hit the road. We'll find a place to bunk until she gets better." Sam nodded at Dean. The shorter brother didn't look very happy, Mei wasn't sure if it was because he was upset that she was sick or if he thought this was all an inconvenience. She twirled the strongly flavored tablet in her mouth, her throat seeming to sooth some right away. She remembered why she had come into the building in the first place as they walked towards the checkout. She had forgotten her phone back in the backseat of the Impala so she had to tug lightly at Sam's sleeve. She felt like a child doing so, and more so when she just pointed at the water bottles on display. She knew she looked guilty asking for it but felt reassured as Sam smiled and grabbed not only one but a case of water bottles.

"You need to stay hydrated." He said simply as her eyes widened at the amount he had gotten. Dean sighed at his brother as he struggled with everything he carried. He took some of the load and tried for a reassuring smile, but grimaced sharing his thoughts out loud as another fit of coughs overtook her. "That does not sound good. Let's hope they have ice where ever we go, we're going to need some to beat that fever."

Mei tried nodding but felt a chill, woozy, and then there was another fit of coughing so she gave thumbs up instead. They paid and made their way back to the Impala. She flopped into the back seat and closed her eyes as the movement of the car made her head spin. She groaned and buried her face into her pillow. Apparently, she fell back to sleep there because the next thing she remembered was waking up briefly as they tried to get her to wake up to get into the room. They must have carried her in, she thought now as she reached up to her forehead, there was something obviously cold there. It was a ziplock wrapped in a paper towel with ice that was mostly melted. She vaguely remembered waking up a few times in the motel as well. Coughing and taking some medicine that Sam gave her that made her fall back to sleep almost instantly.

She took off the makeshift cold pack and set it on the bedside table, the lamp there was still turned on. It was dimmed, giving little light to the room. It was when she finally sat up that Mei realized that she was the only one awake. It looked like Sam was asleep on the other bed and she assumed that Dean was asleep on the couch facing the television set. It was also on, like the lamp, but it seemed to be on mute. It was tuned to an old western. Clint's trademark squint was focused somewhere beyond the lens of the camera.

Mei remembered this scene from when she had seen it back home, with her family… Her family. She hadn't, couldn't, stop thinking about them since Dean had told her what he had found at her house, or better yet what he hadn't found. Where were they? What had happened? Why had they made it seem like Mei had left on a trip? It was like they knew that she was going to be spirited away. Had they had something to do with it? Why did it seem like they were trying to cover it up?

Before she knew it, Mei was crawling out of bed and walking to the couch to sit on it. She could see Dean was slouched against the armrest. He must have been watching TV when he had fallen asleep. His head was tilted back, mouth agape. His arms and ankles were crossed, his legs stretched out toward the TV. Mei couldn't help but smile at the scene. She turned to look towards Sam, sleeping like a starfish on the bed. It was no wonder why Dean had taken the couch.

Mei brushed her teeth and freshened up, she was still on her period but her cramps were nearly gone. She decided to sit quietly next to Dean with her blanket wrapped around her until the movie ended. She wasn't sure how long she had been asleep for but she felt better, not very much better but better. She felt if she breathed in the chilly air too deeply her cough might return. So, she kept her blanket over her mouth, the humidity keeping her cough at bay. Her throat felt raw and raspy. She wasn't sure where Sam had put the cough drops or where they had put the medicine. She did, however, know that she had been sleeping on her back that her nose had probably drained to the back of her mouth and probably into her lungs.

She grimaced at the thought of coughing all of it up later. She remembered when she had been sick like this before. Her uncles had taken care of her. They had made her soup and tea that warmed her and soothed her from the inside out. She remembered them and how they loved her and she loved them. She felt her heart ache for them. Missing them now more than she had before. She looked around the room. She wasn't sure where she was. Where they had stopped. It didn't really matter, it wasn't home.

Mei found herself sniffing as her nose began to run again and her eyes welled up, brimming with unshed tears. She didn't want to cry anymore, she fought them back. Or fought them back as best as she could. She curled up and leaned her head against the headrest, it wasn't as comfortable but she didn't want to go back to the bed. She wanted to feel close to someone, her rear and feet were a few inches away from Dean, who still slept.

Or so she thought. Dean had woken up when she had first sat on the couch. He was listening to her and watching her when he could, trying to see what she would do. He tried not to physically tense when she looked like she was about to cry. She looked lost. Her expression when she looked around the room said everything. "This wasn't home." He remembered that look. He had had it himself when he was a boy. When his father took them to their first hotel room. The first of many. When exactly had he stopped looking at these kinds of rooms like that?

This kind of thinking was making him uncomfortable. He chanced a peek at Mei from the corner of his eye, he had felt her move next to him on the couch. She was laying on her side with her head on the low armrest, curled into the fetal position. It was hard to see her though, she was wrapped up too tightly into her blanket cocoon. He waited until he was sure she was asleep again before moving. He straightened out and peered over her.

She really was small. Sam had mentioned it while she had been asleep but he had tried to not pay it any attention. She was a girl, girls were small. So what? But now that he had her there curled up next to him, he really got the feeling she was small. The couch they were on was about the size of a love seat and they both fit on it like this. His mind wondered a little, if she were flipped around, her head could have been on his lap. Did he want that? He stood up and kneeled in front of her trying to find her face in the mess. Was she trying to suffocate herself?

He couldn't help but smile at what he found. She was a mess and had to breath from her mouth, from which she was drooling. He nearly jumped when she snorted suddenly, but froze as he realized she was still asleep. Should he try to get her comfortable or just leave her there like that? He wasn't sure he would be able to untangle her from her blanket without waking her up. So, he did what he could which was get her pillow and tuck it under her head after moving her a little on the couch so her neck wasn't kinked.

He watched her for a few minutes before wondering what he should do. He had gotten his few hours of sleep and was up for the day. He checked the time, it was 7 am. He knew Bobby would be up by now so he stepped out of the room and called the elder hunter.

"Yeah?" Bobby answered. "Hey, Bobby, we're going to be kind of late to get back. Mei got sick and we're bunked down till she gets better." Before Dean could continue talking Bobby cut him off. "Why don't you get the Angel to work his mojo oh her?" Dean was quiet for a few minutes. "You didn't think of that did you?" "Yes, yes I did." Dean obviously hadn't thought of it. "It's just a cold or something. I think Angel mojo is kind of overkill for that." He defended. Maybe he would ask Cas to help speed up her recovery. But after he hung up with Bobby.

He could hear her dog, what was it's name again? Sebastian? Whatever it's name was he could hear it scampering around Bobby. "Alright, alright, ya mangey mutt, I'll get yer food." Bobby tried speaking away from the phone but Dean could still hear him. "Any news on what happened at her house yet?" Dean asked after he knew he had Bobby's full attention. "Nothing yet. Not sure how the police are trying to contact her, they know she's mute. You know they are itchin' to ask her questions though." Dean sighed at that.

"Yeah I'm sure they are." Dean rubbed his forehead remembering how Mei had looked earlier. She had probably been thinking about her home and family. "Alright, let me know if you hear anything. Thanks Bobby." He hung up and thought if he should call Cas. Might the angel know how to fix her mutism too. Would that be too far? Did she like being mute? Was it something that could even be fixed? It would make talking to her easier. He liked talking to her. He wondered what it would be like to have her talk back instead of texting or writing. Should he ask Cas if he can fix it. No, it wasn't his place.

"Hey Cas, I don't know if your busy or anything but Mei's with us and she's sick. I was wondering if you could help get her better. We think she got sick in the sewers." Dean wasn't sure what he was asking anymore so he kind of trailed off at the end. "It wasn't the sewers." Cas's gruff voice came to him near the Impala behind him. "It wasn't?" Dean asked automatically. "It seems that however she came to be on your bed, the power that got her there, temporarily weakened her immune system. She could have gotten sick anywhere." Dean grimaced. "I'm sure the sewers didn't help." "Probably not. I will see if I can help." Cas was about to go into the room but the elder Winchester stopped him.

"Have you heard or seen anything else about what might have happened to her family or her home?" Castiel looked questioningly at Dean. "There has been a lot of chatter on Angel radio about what could have happened. But they're all asking the same things. Nobody knows what happened. Everything and everyone involved has been warded from sight. The only one I can see is the girl." Dean waited for Castiel to say more but he didn't.

"And? What do you see about her? Why is she mute?" Castiel looked curious at this. "She's mute? I will have to examine her more closely to see why that is." He narrowed his eyes as if looking at her through the wall. "When you last asked me to see if she was something other than human I did not see anything to cause concern. She is only human."

"I get that she's human Cas. It's not what I'm asking." What was he asking? "I don't understand." The angel announced after a moment. "It's nothing, forget it. So, do you think you can help her out?" Dean wasn't sure what he was trying to get out of his friend. He let the Angel into the room to find that Sam was awake now and was checking on Mei.

"Hey Cas, what's going on?" Sam asked quietly. The two spoke and Dean tried to remember the dream he had been having before Mei had gotten on the couch and woken him up. He knew it had something to do with her but he had forgotten what it had been about now. It felt like it may have been important. He had been lost in thought, trying to remember _anything_ , when Sam brought him back to reality.

"Huh, what?" Dean asked not sure what his younger brother had asked him. "Do you think this is a good idea?" Dean was still a little confused. "To have Cas heal her? Wouldn't it bring up questions? We told her about vampires and werewolves, but _angels_ and what that means. I mean it was kind of hard for us to believe it and we live the life." Sam tried to make sense, and Dean understood. They wanted to keep her out of the loop if they could.

She wouldn't have to know that Cas was even here. "He can just work his mojo while she's sleeping, if she wakes up. Make her forget she saw you." He started, talking to Sam then finished to Cas. Cas nodded and crouched down in front of where she was laying on the couch. A light came from his palm as he passed it over the bundle that was Mei. "How did she end up on the couch?" Sam asked Dean crossing his arms as they both watched Cas do his thing. "She woke up and watched some TV then curled up and passed out."

"And you let her just stay on the couch. You were pretending to sleep, weren't you?" Sam was a little disbelieving, frowning at his brother. "What? She looked like she wanted to cry." Dean admitted frowning back. Sam was better at dealing with emotional women, but they both would rather just not. Sam grimaced slightly in understanding before turning his attention back to Cas and Mei. It was only a few minutes and Cas was done. He straightened up and approached the brothers.

"She is fine now." He stated as fact. His blank expression never faltering, as always. "Did you find out why she's mute?" Dean asked and Sam turned to look at him surprised. "I did not. There's no physical reason why she cannot speak. I would need more time for a thorough inspection. It could be uncomfortable for her." Dean nodded understanding. He didn't think she was making it up. She didn't seem the type to traumatize easily. She didn't seem traumatized now and she had come face to face with dragons. Sad about her family and home, but not traumatized.

"Maybe later Cas, let's just let her sleep for now. We'll hit the road once she's up. We're going to Bobby's, we're leaving her there while we look for answers." Castiel nodded at Dean, then frowned. "She is waking up." Before the brothers had time to respond he was gone. Just as Cas had said, Mei stirred then sat up abruptly. Quickly untangled herself and ran to the bathroom. Sam and Dean merely stood there, waiting for her to come back out, eyebrows raised. When she did come out she looked confused.

"Feeling better?" Dean asked. All Mei could do was nod. She looked for her phone, and texted them when she found it. 'I just hacked up the biggest loogy.' "Gross. Are you hungry?" Sam cut off her texting anything else so she couldn't ask anything. She thought a moment, and moved her mouth as if testing if she would want food, smacking her lips together and nodded. Sam smiled at the now familiar gesture. She would do it every time they asked if she was hungry.

"Let's pack up and hit the road then, we can head to Bobby's after we eat." Dean announced snatching up his duffle. He turned and saw Mei as he left to put his stuff in the car. She was frowning, even more confused at how her pillow had gotten on the couch. Sam was getting his things and helped Mei with hers, Dean hadn't even had to come back in. They were all in the car, Mei had insisted on leaving her blanket and pillow in the trunk, she had coughed on and drooled all over them. She hopped she would be able to wash them soon.

"Where do we feel like eating?" Dean asked as he turned the ignition and Baby came to life with a rumble. Sam shrugged. They hadn't really eaten anything since Mei had gotten sick. "Anything sounds good right now." Mei nodded, agreeing with Sam. Dean seemed a little frustrated but pulled out of the parking spot and grumbled something along the lines of "We'll eat at the first place that comes up then." Which turned out to be a Thai food place much to Sam's excitement and Dean's chagrin.

"So, you like Thai food?" Dean asked Mei after they had ordered their drinks. They had their menus and they couldn't help but notice her expressions as she went over the selection. Her silent oh's and ah's amused them to say the least. She smiled and nodded. Dean decided then that he would order the same thing she did. The amount of gusto that she had just made it seem like the best thing to get. Which amused Sam even more.

Sam wasn't sure what it was about Mei that he liked about her, but he did. She seemed kind and light hearted, even after everything that had happened. The way it usually went, when a victim had to change their way of life this drastically, even if only temporarily, the brothers were to blame. Either by those involved or by themselves. It felt very different with Mei, she didn't act like a victim. Even though she was angry, frustrated, and confused she didn't seem to blame them.

"This is good." Dean announced around a mouthful of pad see ew. Sam looked down at his own plate, a little regretfully. Mei's and Dean's plates smelled so much better. He looked from Dean to Mei, who also had a mouthful of the thick noodles giving Dean a smile. She glanced at Sam and her expression grew curious. He was looking at them both with an odd thoughtful look. 'What's wrong?' She texted him. He almost pouted when he answered.

"Your food smells better than mine." She laughed at this and responded with 'Want to go halfsies? Yours looks good too.' Sam looked reluctant and guilty for a second before nodding. So, they split the beef and broccoli and pad see ew. Dean looked like he wanted to tease them but stopped when Mei exaggerated the amount of yum she was getting from a sliver of beef. He frowned and stole one from his little brother's plate. Sam unintelligibly protested, frowning as he watched his elder brother chew on the flavorful meat.

"That. Is pretty good too." Dean nodded. They ate the remainder of their meals in near silence. After they finished, Mei asked to order a Thai tea for the road. They each got one and Dean was surprised at how sweet it was. "I'll just sip it." He said after putting it between his legs, pulling out of the parking lot and starting the long drive to Bobby's.

On the road, Mei took her time to finally check her messages. There were so many from her friends, worried and wanting to know if she was okay. They let her know that the police were looking for her. They wanted to know if her uncles had contacted her. If she knew anything about what had happened. She couldn't help but sigh, she didn't have any answers and she knew if she responded to any of them they would want to know why she wasn't coming home right away to find out. It would be out of character for her if she didn't know what she did. Which wasn't much, but it wasn't something she could even begin to try to explain to her friends.

Sam had told her it was a bad idea to try to contact anyone she knew from home. It wouldn't be safe for them or her. At first, she was sure he had been exaggerating. But now, after the eye opener of what could be out there, what could be involved, she didn't want to risk it. She loved her friends and would do what she could to keep them safe. As much as she wanted to let them know she was okay, she would let them worry about her just until she knew what was going on. Hopefully they would understand.

"Do you think you could help us learn some more sign language?" Sam asked from the front seat, he still had that Sign Language for Dummies book and was holding it up, an unsure grin on his face. He wasn't sure if she would still want to. She let him know about her friends worrying. "I understand, it was the same for me when I had to leave Stanford. I lived there and had friends. They worried but don't worry, we're gonna try to get you back home." He changed where he was going with that last sentence. He had thought of saying "Don't worry, they'll forget about you eventually," like his friends had. He didn't blame them, they had their lives to move on with.

Mei looked sad a moment. She did notice that Sam didn't say anything about being in contact with his friends. She didn't want to ask if he was or not, it seemed like a tender subject. One she wasn't quite ready to face herself. 'Yeah I'll help you guys learn some ASL.' She texted after a few moments of silent thought. She smiled and took the book.

The remainder of the day was spent like they had the first time they had been in the car together. They tried not to talk about their situation, her situation. The brothers would switch driving when they would get tired of driving. Whoever was not driving would entertain or be entertained by Mei. It was late afternoon when they started napping to prepare for the night drive. Mei insisted she could drive too but Dean didn't seem quite ready to trust her behind the wheel.

'Is it because I'm Asian? Or because I'm a woman?' Mei was acting like she was angry, she obviously wasn't but the questions had startled Dean and he nearly choked. He blabbered for a minute and Sam couldn't help but laugh. They were at a pit stop, getting snacks and refreshments. Dean had just taken a huge gulp of a coke when Mei had sent him the accusations.

"So, I'm either racist or sexist." He mocks glowering, smirking a little when he turned to pay for their things. Mei snorted at this and waved her hands defensively. 'It's because I have no peripheral vision.' She put her hands on either side of her face and made chomping motions with her mouth. Her teeth over her bottom lip and her eyes narrowed, like she was some old Asian lady. Dean tried hard to just stare at her blankly, but she just kept going. _Chomp, chomp, chomp_. He couldn't hold it, Sam was already snickering. She just wasn't breaking character. He was fighting a losing battle so his laugh came out strained as he tried to stifle it.


	8. Keep Holding On

**AN: Okay so I'm doing this thing now where I will try to name the title after a song that I feel inspired by for each chapter. I'll post the title and artist if you're interested so you can take a listen. Haha Don't judge XD Some of these will probably be super corny.**

 **Keep Holding On – Avril Lavigne**

Chapter 8

Keep Holding On

Mei and Sam had been in the middle of going over a chapter in her Sign Language for Dummies when they had gotten to Bobby's. Sam had moved to the back seat to sit next to Mei as opposed to twisting around in the front seat. He and Mei hadn't even noticed they had gotten into South Dakota much less Bobby's home town. So, when Dean stopped the car and thy both looked up to see where they were they were surprised to find themselves on Bobby's property.

"Alright, we're here." Dean announced putting his baby into park and turning off the engine. "That seemed fast." Sam chimed closing the book and getting out of the car. Mei nodded in agreement and got out of the opposite end. She wondered if Bobby would be upset about her having to come back with them. She knew they had told him that she was coming back with them but she hadn't been able to guess how he reacted about it. She had been lost in thought and pulling her stuff out of the trunk when she heard barking. She hadn't been too sure last time if Bobby had any dogs on his property but she wasn't surprised to hear one now. It had been a possibility.

From the sound of it, it was inside the house barking like mad on the other side of the door. She couldn't help but slump and sigh, disappointed and missing her own dog. She wondered if he could have been spirited away like she had. She knew it was impossible to know right now, as far as she knew he had gone missing with her uncles.

She sighed again, heaving her things up into a more secure grip making her way to the porch. Sam and Dean were close behind her. She looked at them curiously they were smiling, almost ear to ear. What had them so cheerful? Then she heard the unmistakable sound of the gold Dean had stowed away in one of his bags. It was no wonder they were happy. They had raided the dragons den.

She could hear Bobby on the other side of the door, she had knocked with her knee because her hands were full. He was barking orders at the dog behind the door. "Alright alight, ya mut. Let me let her in first." She could tell the dog was happy to have visitors, she could hear it scampering around, it's claws scraping on the hardwood floor. He opened the door and the dog bolted past her and into the scrap yard. She hadn't been able to get a good look at it, what with everything she was holding, she would later, she told herself. She squeezed herself and her things through the door and followed Bobby to where he told her to set her things down.

She could hear Sam talking to Dean and the dog. "Who's a good boy? Yeah, you are." Was what she heard as she straightened out after freeing her arms of her things. "No no no no stay. _Staaaay._ " Which was unmistakably Dean. She took a good look around. This had been the room next to the kitchen, it looked like a study or library of some kind. There were dusty old books and papers everywhere. She remembered it reminded her of her uncle's mess back home. She had been about to pick a book up, one on the desk, when she heard Sam call her from outside. Bobby had been waiting by the door where he had let her in.

She made her way to the door again and could see Sam's back as he sat on the porch steps. His frame was blocking her view of the dog. "Hey," He twisted his body to smile at her. He could see her though the screen door. "You might want to come out and say hi." She quirked her head and opened the door to let herself out.

It was when she got there that she got a better look. It was Sebastian! She couldn't help the squeal of pure happiness that erupted from her as she fully opened the door and let herself fall to her knees. Sebastian nearly knocked Sam out of the way to get to her. He was so happy to see her, his little nub of a tail wagging furiously as he covered her face is wet slobbery kisses. Mei couldn't help the tears that came out, she wasn't sad though. They were tears of happiness.

"Well he sure is happy to see you." Bobby half chuckled from inside the house. He had his arms crossed and a half-crooked smile on his face. Mei nodded as more tears streamed down her face. She looked to Sam, who was still sitting on the porch step, petting Sebastian a broad smile on his face. She looked around to find Dean leaning against the rail of the porch, a smile on his face too. Had they known that he was here? The looks on their face said yes. They had wanted to surprise her.

She looked back to Sebastian, wondering how he had gotten here. Were her uncles here too? She wanted to ask. But she couldn't seem to will herself to let her dog go, she was afraid if she did that he would disappear. Instead she gave Sam and Dean a questioning look silently telling them she wanted answers. "He's been here for a few days. Bobby still has no idea how he got here. He was running around the scrap yard giving Bobby a run for his money." Dean said getting closer but hesitantly. He didn't always get along with dogs.

Sebastian wasn't having it though and squirmed his way out of her arms and ran out to him, sniffing him curiously. Mei took advantage and took out her phone. She stared at it for a moment, wondering what to ask first. She saw how Dean looked uncomfortable with Sebastian and smiled, 'He doesn't bite.' She texted and whistled a command, he came scampering back to her and sat near her feet. The men looked both amused and surprised. "So, he responds to whistles." Bobby gruffly announced, more to himself than anyone.

"It makes sense," Sam said getting up from the step and towering next to Mei. "Right, cause your mute. He didn't listen when I said "stay". Potato dog." Dean finished shaking his head, amused. Mei laughed, her friends sometimes called her pup potato dog. It felt good to hear it again, familiar. She then remembered Bobby understood sign and asked him if her family might have happened to show up too. His slight smirk turned into a disappointed sigh and shake of the head. "Afraid not Mei. I found something else that I'm assumin' is yours though." Both brothers seem curious about this, this was news to them too. He motioned for them to follow him and he lead them through to a far-off corner of his property.

"You have got to be kidding me." Dean was the first to say anything but no body heard it because it was drowned out by another of Mei's squeals. It was her _other_ baby, her little bumblebee. She wanted to hug it too but restrained herself this time. She tilted her head a little getting a better look at it. It was lopsided. She wanted to do a thorough inspection. And she did, or as much as she could without her keys, much to the men's amusement.

"You think that's her car?" Sam asked Dean looking a little dumbfounded not sure how he felt about it. Dean scoffed, she was on her hands and knees trying to get a better look under the car. "Looks like it. It's… It's like a shoebox." Sam chuckled. "Actually, I think you have shoeboxes that are bigger." Dean joked. Sam half scoffed half laughed, pushing his brother lightly. "It's cute." He tried defending. "She's cute." Dean coughed just in time for Mei not to hear them. She was approaching them again wiping her hands on her thighs to get the dirt off of them. 'I need my keys!' she texted as she ran past them and back to the house to retrieve them.

"I'll bet you twenty bucks that it sounds like a weed eater when she turns it on." Dean chuckled punching his brothers arm as they heard Mei make her way back. "Gas or electric?" Sam asked and Dean looked curious. His curiosity stayed and he followed Mei when she eagerly unlocked her car door. He was leaning over the driver side window watching as she put the key in the ignition. She turned it over and there was an unmistakable _electric_ hum. Dean thumped the roof of the car and threw his arms in the air.

"Clown car runs on batteries!" He announced and Sam laughed as he got closer to the car now too. "I want to see if you fit in it." Dean met his brother half way and started guiding him toward the passenger's side of the tiny car. "Wait what?" Sam protested trying to walk away. Mei waved at him from inside the car and patted the seat next to her, she wanted to see if he fit too. His shoulders slumped and he submitted. A resigned "Fine" of a sigh came out of him and he approached the passenger side door.

The amount of effort it took for him to crouch and actually get into the car even made Bobby laugh. "Idjits." He grunted and turned to leave for the house, Sebastian waddling close behind him. Dean smiled at the image. The old hunter had obviously grown attached to the stumpy dog, even if he denied it. Dean was sure he would, the grumpy old man had a hard exterior but was all soft inside. He looked back to the little car he was standing next to and saw that Mei was gauging if she would be able to fit it between the isles of cars that made up the scrap yard.

She gave it a little gas and there was a little give from the loose dirt underneath the tires and off it went. Slowly but surely, she made her way to where the Impala was. Sam's arm was outside of the car, when it wasn't a tight fit, as if he were trying to hold the door onto the frame himself. A slight look of surprise or worry on his expression. She followed Dean, weaving through the maze of mangled cars. Once she had it parked again, near the Impala, Sam got out rather quickly and closed the door carefully.

"So, how was it." Dean asked his younger brother as they made their way towards what Mei assumed was a workshop outside of Bobby's house. Sam thought a moment, following his brother. "Zippy." He answered. Dean chuckled taking the duffel of gold and putting it on top of a beat-up wood table. Mei wanted to follow them, but she wanted to check her car again, it had lost its lopsidedness. She guessed the ground had just been uneven. In all honesty she wanted to use it to get home. To see for herself how things were. Maybe she could avoid the cops. How would she get there with her little car though? She would have to plan charging stations on the way.

She sighed watching as Dean started opening the duffle and going through it, a broad grin on his face. Getting out of the driver's side, she waved to the brothers motioning that she was going inside the house. There was no way she could get home like this. What if Sam and Dean were right, and it wasn't safe for her to go back yet. She had to talk to Bobby about her stuff that she guessed was somewhere else in the house. Wondered if they would be staying at Bobby's house for a while before leaving to look for her family.

When she got inside Bobby was in the process of filling up a dog bowl of food. 'Thank you for taking care of him for me.' She signed to him when he noticed she had come in. "Its no problem, he's a good dog. Not much of a security dog, but a good dog." He replied. Mei smiled at him nodding. She asked him if he had a washer machine that she could use. She guessed she would need her pillow and blanket for the night. Well not need, but want. The house smelt foreign and she knew it would probably keep her up, that and everything that had happened to her so far. She still had so many questions and they had hardly touched on any of them on the way back.

"Yeah, I got one. Dryer too." He leads her to where it was in the basement. It was super scary down there for her. She never liked creepy places, especially dark and old looking ones. Mei quickly put her blanket, pillow sham and dirty clothes in to wash and hurried back up to the main floor. She didn't even really bother to look around down there. She was sure, what with all the things they said they hunted she didn't really want to look.

When she got back to where Bobby was in the house, she signed him a 'Thank you' a speck of fear still obvious on her face. Bobby couldn't help but quirk a brow at her. She nearly twirled around, looking for the pile of things she had left the last time she had been there. "I put your stuff in a room upstairs. Figured you would want to keep it with you since you'll be sticking around for a bit. Until we find your family that is." Bobby said not only glancing up from a book he was thoroughly examining. One the brothers had handed him earlier.

"Till then, you're welcome to the room. It's up the stairs and to the right, second door on the left." He motioned in the general direction of the stairs and only looked up when he heard her going that way. He sighed and knew that the brothers would want to leave her there with him to baby sit. She didn't seem the type to be happy about that, he could tell she had questions about her family and what they would be doing to find them. He lifted his cap and rubbed his scalp not looking forward to having to deal with an unhappy little Asian woman.

Mei wasn't sure if it was just the house itself or if she was just paranoid but she seemed to have the creeps where ever she went in it alone. It just seemed to have that kind of vibe. She texted Sam asking if they were going to be staying the night or leaving right way. He replied that they would probably be staying at Bobby's for a few days to try to get some leads on where her family was through the contacts they had. With that in mind Mei looked for her comfortable, ready for bed, clothes.

It didn't take her long to find the bathroom and get in to take a shower. She was glad to find that it wasn't dirty or gross. Not that Bobby's house was gross. But it was dusty and cluttered. It made her wonder about Bobby himself. She pondered about him and the brothers as she went through her shower ritual. How had they started having a life like this? One full of hunting the things that go bump in the night. Once she was clean she set her mind on asking them about what they would be doing and how she could help once she got out.

Earlier, back with Sam and Dean. Sam found himself staring at his brother as he rummaged through the duffle of gold. His head turning, trying to figure out how to broach the subject. He knew is was going to be a serious discussion. Mei's text got to him around this time and he wondered what they would be doing. Either way she would more than likely be staying. He and his brother had already agreed on that. When he felt he had thought about it long enough he apologized and told his elder brother that he had found out about his not having a soul for over a year. He felt responsible for everything he found out he had done, and wondered what else he had done that his brother and Bobby didn't even know about.

Dean was persistent that it hadn't been his fault. That it hadn't really been him. He wanted his brother to forget about it. He didn't get to argue the fact that the wall inside of his little brother's head was dangerous to poke at much less even know about. Bobby had something he had discovered and urgently wanted to show them and Dean was at a loss as to how to explain to his brother what could go wrong.

They had come back into Bobby's library and the eldest hunter was about to go over what he had found when they heard the upstairs shower turn off. They waited in silence for a few minutes before Bobby broke it, whispering. "So, what does she know and what are you gonna tell her? She was snatched up by dragons a reckon she knows a little about something." Sam and Dean frowned a bit, knowing Bobby would probably not be happy about what they had let her know.

"We told her what we do and what we hunt. Kept it simple. She doesn't know anything besides that." Sam answered quietly and Bobby nodded. "She's not going to be a hunter." Dean put in bluntly. "If we can help it." He finished thinking about it. "If we can help it, we should just get her and her kin home. I reckon there's more going on than we know regarding her. She might not have a choice if she wants to keep ticking." They were a little surprised at Bobby. He did have a point though. What would happen to her if it turned out they couldn't find her family? Would she be able to just go back home by herself? It was a sad thought, but still better than becoming a hunter. Dean thought. He was sure Sam thought the same. Bobby too. They reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Bobby shook his head after a moment, they could hear her moving upstairs probably getting dressed. "She aint gonna be happy if your plannin' on leaving her here with me. You ought to tell her if she is. _Before_ she starts packing up and making plans." Dean grimaced. He was planning on just sneaking out with his brother when they did leave. He didn't want to be the one to tell her that they were just going to leave her here.

"I was thinking we wouldn't have to tell her and just leave when she wasn't looking." Dean admitted and Sam shook his head in disbelief. "She needs to trust us enough to give us information we need to find her family. We have zero leads besides her." Dean frowned. "So, what you want to bring her with us? This isn't the magic school bus, Sammy." Sam seemed to get angry at this. "I know that Dean, and no I don't want to bring her with us. I'm saying we explain to her why she should stay. I'm sure after the dragons she has some idea of how bad it can be." They were silent for a moment and they didn't get to continue the discussion because they could hear Mei start to make her way towards the stairs.

"So, what have you got Bobby?" Dean asked thumping the desk where they were all around, Bobby sitting and the brothers facing him. The book he had been examining earlier being the item he had wanted to talk about.

"Now, as near as I can figure it, this dates back around the fourteenth century." He answered getting that they didn't want Mei to find out that they had been discussing what to do about her behind her back.

"What language is it?" Sam asked leaning over to get a better look at it. He could hear Mei reaching the bottom of the steps. She could hear them talking now and was curious as to what they were talking about so she didn't announce her arrival.

"Da Vinci code. Real obscure Latinate. Gonna take me my golden years to translate it all." Sam walked around the side of the desk he was standing in front of and got a chair, smiling at Mei in greeting as if he had just noticed her. He offered her the chair but she shook her head, leaning against the frame of the archway that lead from the hall with the stairs to the library, so he put it in front of the desk to sit on it to get a closer look at the book. "Oh, and, uh, F.Y.I. – that ain't paper." Bobby warned, Dean had been touching the book and asked what it was.

"It's human skin." He said as a matter of fact. Mei's mouth dropped and the brothers seemed a bit surprised by it too. Dean retreated his hand and straightened out looking somewhat disgusted. None of them dared to look towards Mei, maybe she would get a feeling of how _not safe_ this was.

"Okay. I'm fairly clear on this first bit." Bobby continued. "it basically describes this place. It's like the backside of your worst nightmares. It's all blood and bone and darkness. Filled with the bodies and souls of all things hungry, sharp and nasty." He glanced at Mei as he finished. She looked pale and uncomfortable. There was such a place? "Monsters?" Sam asked getting Bobby's attention back to him and his brother. "It's Monster-land. According to this, it goes by many names, most of which I can't pronounce, but I'm thinking you know Purgatory." Bobby stated and the brothers seemed to recognize the term. They were surprised by this too, and didn't seem very happy about it.

"Purgatory?" He seemed a bit dumbfounded. "Awesome." Dean's sarcasm wasn't missed as he reached for a glass and decanter with an alcoholic drink in it. He cleared his throat. "Well, that's good to know." Mei could tell he wasn't happy about finding this out, enough so that he felt the need to drink because of it. Bobby even took a swig of what he had left in his glass. "So, you're saying that these, uh, dragon freaks were squatting in the sewers reading tone poems about purgatory?" he asked sitting down on the couch in the room.

"Oh, no, no, no." Bobby corrected shaking his head. "They're reading an instruction manual." Dean's expression grew anxious. "What?" Was all he could manage disbelieving. "Yeah, if you're nuts enough to want access to a place that gnarly, this book with show you how to open a door." Bobby answered.

"Door to purgatory. Well, I know a demon who would have loved to have known about that." Dean added, nonchalantly, looking down at his glass as he swirled a bit. Sam was nodding slightly in agreement. "So, how do you open the door?" He asked. This was confusing Mei. They not only hunted demons but were familiar with individual ones? Maybe he was just being sarcastic. She watched as Bobby turned the fleshy pages, it looked like the last page had been ripped out. "Ask Cloverfield. I'm pretty sure he's got that page." The brothers frowned, Sam unhappy and Dean finally took a drink out of his glass. Mei wondered if her being taken had had something to do with opening this door. If it was that it needed a human sacrifice to open. Had they stopped it by rescuing her and the other women?

"it gets worse." Bobby continued. Mei couldn't see how it could get worse.

"Worse?" Sam asked, echoing her thoughts.

"This ain't talking about how to take a vacation over there. This is about opening a door to let something in." The elder hunter motioned to the book. Dean was looking intently at what he had to say. "Bring something here?" Sam asked, pointing at the book. "What?" "I'm working on it." Bobby answered. Sam looked to Dean as if to try to find more answers with him.

"Could you give us something?" Dean asked Bobby, trying to get something more. "I got a name." Bobby admitted. "Okay." Dean pressed. "Mother." Bobby replied seeming unsure. They all looked confused. "Mother? M-mother of what? Mother of dragons?" Sam voiced, asking what he thought it might mean.

"I wish. It says a few times here. Mother of all." The atmosphere just seemed to be getting tenser by the moment. Like a suspenseful moment in a scary story. It was making Mei uncomfortable, the men didn't seem as bothered by it. This really is what they did. They were talking about monsters and books made out human skin over drinks like it was football or something. They were even touching the book without any problem. Mei tried to think back to if she had touched the thing and wanted to take another shower just thinking about it.

"What the hell does _mother of all_ mean?" Dean broke their silence. "I don't know." Bobby answered honestly and they all stayed silent, thinking of what it could mean. They were quiet for a while before Dean stood up and announced that he was hungry. Sam looked flabbergasted, "What? It's not like we can figure it out just sitting around here thinking about it." Sam didn't seem to want to find a reason to protest and nodded. "You hungry?" he turned in his seat and faced Mei as he asked. She was taken by surprise. She looked dumbfounded.

'So, this kind of stuff is really normal for you guys?' She texted. Sam managed a half shrug. "The dragons were new, even to us." He admitted after a moment. She frowned, she still wanted to know more about what it was they did. Things she could ask over dinner. 'I can eat.' She replied.

It was obvious to Mei that Bobby was not used to having guests by the state of his kitchen. Dean had rummaged through it trying to find something they could all eat and came up with a few cans of soup. Mei shook her head, it was still early enough in the afternoon to get some groceries and make something more in time for dinner. She signed this to Bobby who seemed a little surprised and uncomfortable. "I 'spose you could get something from the supermarket." This caught the younger hunters' attention. "You can cook?" Dean asked and Mei couldn't help but look a little offended. She nodded.

'Let me check my account balance and I'll go and get something for dinner.' She texted, going into her bank app on her phone. She logged in and gaped at the balance. "What is it? Are you broke?" Sam asked, and she shook her head. It looked like her uncles had transferred their entire balance to her. She slowly explained this as she could to Bobby with sign. He spoke it out loud to the brothers. "That's, t-that's probably not going to look good to the cops." Sam stated and it took Mei a moment to realize what he meant.

"When was it deposited?" Dean asked coming up behind Mei to try to see for himself. Mei couldn't help but hide her phone to her chest. Dean sighed "Aw, come on I'm just trying to help." He looked at her seriously and she seemed a bit weary before handing him her phone. "This was done the day after you showed up in our room. You hadn't noticed until, oh right Sammy had your phone." He smirked accusingly at his little brother. Who frowned in return. "You know it was to protect her." He stated and then his eyes grew somewhat wide as he quickly took the phone from his brother and took out the battery.

"Woah," Dean protested staring at his brother in dismay. "She logged into her bank account," he said to his brother and continued just as seriously. "they could be tracking the activity if they haven't already found out that the money was transferred to your account." He looked sorrowfully towards Mei. It made sense but she still wasn't happy about it. Did that mean that she wouldn't be able to have her phone anymore again? Her eyes grew wider, what if they had already been tracking it? She signed her worry to Bobby who voiced it to Sam and Dean.

"There's no way of knowing if they have, I don't know if they would start this soon after a missing person's case. There's still a chance of them going back home. But with the money in your account, they just might." Dean explained, then leaned against the kitchen counter thinking to himself. He needed to talk to his brother and Bobby alone but he didn't know if he should leave Mei to her own devices. She had already snuck out once, there was no saying if she would again.

"Promise not to get mad?" Dean asked her and she quirked her head, silently asking him what he meant. Sam seemed worried, and gave his brother a warning with his expression. "We were thinking of leaving you here with Bobby, while we went off to look for your family. But now I don't know." "Dean!" Sam protested but it was too late. Mei was lost for a few moments then registered what he had said and what it meant. She wasn't sure if she should feel betrayed or furious. She was sure she felt both.

"We can't keep your phone here, we'll have to send it out to send anyone tracking it on a wild goose chase. And you've been here long enough with your phone on to warrant an investigation. If they find you here, you will probably be arrested and charged with something." Dean explained. "She can't stay here either." Sam said quietly realizing the same thing.

"We woulda probably been able to get away with her stayin' here if it was just Jody, but this crosses state lines, the feds will more'n likely be involved. It's too bad we didn't catch that sooner, woulda been able to avoid it." Bobby interjected. Mei didn't know who Jody was but she guessed she was an officer of some kind. "Maybe she can help keep them off us for a couple of days though." Dean announced obviously having an idea. He took out his own cell and was moving to another room to make a call.

"So much for homemade dinner." Bobby sounded less than surprised as he took Mei's phone and got it ready for the ruse they were going to pull on the feds. If there were any feds. Mei couldn't help but wonder why all that money, all of her uncle's money had been put into her account. Wouldn't they need it where ever they were, or were going? This worried her more than the thought of getting arrested.

'Maybe I should let them take me. They might know more than we do about where my family could be.' She signed and Bobby shook his head. "I don't think they'll even try to understand. It's not like they'll be jumpin' on the idea that you just got swept outa your bed and magically appeared here in South Dakota. They'll probably be thinkn' you're on the run." He explained, and she understood. She didn't want it to make sense. She wanted to be able to go to the authorities and ask for help. She knew it probably wouldn't go well though, not with how things looked.

'What should I do?' She asked, at a loss. Sam could see the plea on her face and knew without even trying to understand what she had signed. "Let us handle it and just follow our lead. We'll figure this out." He reassured her, unlike the last time he had tried to reassure her she could tell he meant it. She nodded and he gave a small smile.

It was when Dean came back into the room that she felt they had some semblance of a plan. "Okay Jody is going to take the phone and put it in their lost and found. She's going to call someone on the phone and say it was found here. _Someone looking for parts must have dropped it_. Could work as a story. They won't know if it was you or someone else that might have found it. Anyway, it'll give us some time. It depends on how high their priority is on this case, I'm guessing, hoping, not that high. Jody will let us know when she plays her part."

'I'm going to need another notebook.' She signed sadly. Sam frowned when Bobby translated for her. "We'll get you a new phone tomorrow. First thing." He was a little upset he couldn't learn sign language faster, or it wouldn't have really been an issue. It didn't seem she was attached to her phone so much as her ability to use it to communicate with it. Dean had looked a little surprised at his brother's announcement but thought it was worth it to see Mei's expression. It was somewhere between slight surprise and awe. It was cute.

"So, looks like it's going to depend on how the feds react to Jody's story on if you'll be stayin' here or not." Bobby cleared his throat and broke the silence. If he didn't know better he would think both boys were smitten with the little Asian lady in his kitchen. Dean's lack of outright flirting spoke volumes and Sam's tone was a touch more sensitive than it usually was. Hell, even Bobby had to admit she seemed like a good gal. But that was purely based off how she had raised her dog. Wasn't much to go on.

Mei frowned remembering that they had all decided, behind her back no less, to leave her here. Without consulting her. They looked curiously at her, her expression had gotten grumpier. "What's wrong?" Sam asked.

'You were going to leave me here. Without telling me.' Her face looked so betrayed as she signed. 'This is my family we are looking for and I'll do whatever I have to, to help.' She couldn't stop the tears that were starting to well up in her eyes again. No matter how much she tried to stop them they just seemed to keep coming. Any time she thought of not being able to find her family the ache in her chest, that she had been trying to ignore, would return.

"Woah, woah, woah. With the water works." Dean tried gently and turned to bobby as if asking to translate what she said. He told them and the elder Winchester gave her a half hug with one arm. "We just didn't want to put you in danger. Those dragons we faced; _tip of the evil iceberg_. We would be facing these things everyday if it didn't take so long to drive to cases. We are just trying to keep you out of it. We want you to be able to get back to having a normal life, after all of this. Okay? Sammy help me out here."

"Dean's right." Sam approached her and took out a chair for her to sit in. She sat quietly fidgeting with the hem of her pajama top. Dean noticed they were like the pajama's she had been wearing when they had first seen her. "If you see the things like we have, it's hard to go back. Knowing what's out there." She cut Sam off, signing. 'But I do know, you told me.' Bobby didn't bother to translate and answered himself. "You don't understand. It's one thing to be told about what's out there and havin' to face it yerself. Those dragons, they had an agenda. But there is pure evil out there and will do evil things for evil's sake. The book." He pointed to the one they had been going over moments ago, his eyes narrowing to emphasize what he was trying to say. "That ain't the worse we've seen." They all seemed to nod slowly at this. Mei thought a moment.

'So, you're saying it's better for me to stay away from any of it? To be ignorant to what's going on? Even after all of this has happened? With how I got here and why. We don't know why any of this is happening. And you want me to just forget about it?' It was obvious she wasn't trying to fight them on this. She was truly broken about it and trying to understand where they were going with what they were saying.

Bobby translated again and Dean replied. "So what? Find them so they can clear your name or just start a new identity. We can help you." "Dean," Sam interjected before his elder brother could continue. "She has a point. It doesn't explain how she got here or why. I didn't stop looking for Dad when he disappeared on us." Dean frowned, feeling frustrated. But nodded none the less.

"Do you think your uncles are hunting something? The similarities are kind of hard to ignore." Sam scoffed a bit at his brother's statement. "Only she wasn't raised to be a hunter like us, she had a normal life." Mei felt a little guilty at how wrong Sam was. She had been trained all her life, or for as far back as she could remember. For what she didn't know. She thought back to all the things they taught her. Were they preparing her for this side of the world? She looked down at her hands, a realization dawning on her. All the things her uncles had talked about, everything she had thought of as pure superstition. Was all of it real?

"My bet is they're hunting or being hunted by something." Bobby added. They were all silent for a while. They took Mei's expression as worry for her uncles. She was worried but she was also trying to understand their point of view. Both her uncles and these men she had begun to trust. She understood them when it came to keep her safe and teach her what she might need to know. But how had _they_ known? She thought hard, was she upset at her uncles for keeping this from her? No, not really, right now she just wanted to see them safe and sound.

Sam and Dean seemed to want to keep her out of the life that they themselves had. One she was sure she had been getting ready for without even knowing it. _She wouldn't do nothing_ , she _refused_ to do nothing. 'What do I need to know to get through this? I refuse to do nothing. I can and will help.' Her signs were quick and sharp, steadfast. She paused looking to everyone in the room. Dean quirked a brow at her new and clearly determined expression.

'I'll cross any bridges I need to when I get to them, but at least I'll be prepared.' Bobby sighed not bothering to broadcast the message. "You sure about this?" She nodded and this seemed to catch Sam's attention too. "I-is she sure about what?" He asked but Bobby ignored him. "Alright but we'll start in the mornin'. As of now though, we need to get dinner." He gruffed and looked out the kitchen window. The Impala and Smart sitting outside. "Think your toy car can get you and one of these Idjits to the supermarket?" Mei's smile somewhat returned and she nodded.

"What did we miss?" Dean asked, bewildered.


	9. Beat It, Billie Jean

Chapter 9

Beat It, Billie Jean

"Why can't I just take us in Baby?" Dean asks, grumpily leaning against the door jamb between the library and kitchen. "Because. I got in it last time. And now it's _your_ turn." Sam answered chuckling a little as he sat on the couch in the library, the for Dummies book in hand. "Besides she probably won't be able to drive it again for a while. Did you see how happy she was in it." Dean sighed, looking down at the Corgi that had sat by his feet. It was panting and looking up at him. "What do you want?" He asked and it quirked its head, one ear flopping over.

Mei had gone down stairs to put her wash into the dryer. Bobby had gone down with her, saying he would put in a load after she took hers out. It wasn't as scary as before, with someone else there. "So, are you gonna go in your pajamas?" He gruffly asked her once she was done leaning over the dryer to turn the dials. She looked down at herself and half shrugged. She would go out with her friends in her pajamas sometimes, it wasn't that unusual for her. Especially for a quick trip to get something and come back. She saw little point in putting effort to changing. It wasn't like she hadn't put a bra on, the clothes were just a bit big on her.

'Should I change?' she asked, he chuckled a little. "It's up to you. You look like a background double in an old Kung Fu movie." He commented as he started loading the washer. Mei laughed a little and did a mock crane stance when he turned to grab another handful. Her sleeves so long they only showed the tips of her fingers. Bobby couldn't help but chuckle a little more, and remembered he hadn't given her any money for food. "Here, get goin' or we'll be having dinner for breakfast." He pulled out his wallet and handed her some money.

She reluctantly took it. 'Are you sure this is okay?' Bobby sighed and turned to her after putting another handful into the wash. "Yeah, it's fine. We're all gonna be eatin' and it's been a while since we've had a home cooked meal. Might be nice." He turned her around by grasping her shoulders and started leading her to the stairs. "Now git." He pushed her gently, smiling a little. 'Okay, okay,' She started walking up the stairs and crouched down so he could see her sign 'Thank you.' Before making the rest of her way up the stairs.

When she got to the living room, Sam was sitting on the couch and it looked like Dean was staring at Sebastian. She whistled for him to come to her and he did, looking back to Dean a few times before getting to her. She bent down and pet him for a bit before heading upstairs, Sebastian close behind her. It had occurred to her she might have to teach Bobby the commands she had trained him with if he was going to stay here. She had decided to change after all. She didn't want to embarrass anyone if they happened to run into anyone they might know.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Dean asked straightening up from the archway when she came back down. She had put on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, the bomber jacket and boots she had on earlier. She looked to him and nodded, smiling at Sam in greeting. He was really studying that book, she was endeared that he was putting so much effort into it. With her purse slung over her shoulder and her keys in hand she was walking passed Sam on the couch when he seemed to remember something. "Oh hey, here I found this." Sam stood up and handed her a notebook and pen. "Sorry, we'll get to learning sign as quick as we can." He continued, frowning a bit.

'It's okay, I'm glad you're trying though.' She wrote down quickly and started following Dean as he went out. He seemed grumpy for some reason. When she finally got to the door and stepped out she saw he was displeased about going in her car. She wasn't too worried about it. 'I can go on my own if you don't want to get in.' She wrote and his scowl deepened a little before he sighed and seemed to relax. "No, I'll go with you. Just don't flip us over." He warned before opening the door and getting in. Mei couldn't help but smile as she got in and turned to look at him. He looked like an angry child with his arms crossed and face set.

"What?" He asked after he glanced at her a bit confused. 'You sometimes remind me of my uncles.' She admitted before starting the car. Dean didn't seem very happy about it, his eyebrows rose. "Un-uncles? I'm not uncle like." He grumbled. "H-how so?" He asked obviously curious. 'They didn't like this car either.' She wrote and handed him the notebook. He chuckled. She put it into drive and they made their way out of Bobby's scrap yard and toward the nearest supermarket via Dean's directions.

When they had finally gotten to the market and they got out of the car Dean was laughing. "You don't even use up half of the space." He motioned to the car and the amount of space that was empty in the slot. 'Awesome huh?' She wrote down. "I don't know about awesome but it's funny. This thing would be like a ball in a pinball machine if it ever got hit. Doesn't look like you've been in any fender benders though so that's good." He said as they started walking towards the entrance. There were a few men smoking near the entrance.

"Hey, you got any cash you can spare?" One somewhat slurred approaching Mei, she subconsciously cringed away and shook her head. Dean got between her and the lush, "Sorry we only use credit." He grabbed her by the arm and lead her the rest of the way into the shop. "Cheapskates." The man grunted returning to his posse.

Inside Dean retrieved a cart and Mei followed him toward the side of the store that was the produce and bakery. "Do you know what you're going to be making?" She wondered if he knew what she was going to be making, he had a determination in his step that made her curious. 'Not yet, I haven't seen how much Bobby actually gave us.' She showed him, and he gave her a mischievous smile and winked. "Ah, don't worry about that, we have credit." She quirked her head but left it alone. 'Where are we going? We passed the produce section.' She handed her notebook to him again and he laughed. "Towards the pie."

Meanwhile back at Bobby's Sam was still going through the book when Bobby came back up from the basement, having finished putting his own load of laundry into wash. "You ain't gonna learn it overnight." He commented setting his empty hamper down. Sam glanced up at him. "Huh?" he hadn't been paying attention, too enthralled by whatever it was he was trying to absorb. "I said: You _ain't_ gonna learn it _overnight_." Bobby repeated emphasizing 'aint' and 'overnight'. "Oh." Sam chuckled. "I know." He leaned forward closing the book and resting his arms on his knees. "I just want to try to get to where I can understand her so she doesn't need to write anything down anymore."

"You smitten with her?" Bobby asked rather bluntly. The younger Winchester was taken aback. "W-what? No. I-I don't think so." He was obviously not sure, he scrunched up his nose and ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Uh huh." Bobby didn't believe him and narrowed his eyes at him. "W-we don't know why she's here. O-or what's happened to her family. I'm not going to, you know, try to get involved with her." Sam defended. Bobby's expression was unwavering. "Uh huh." So, Sam stood up and motioned to the door. "I think Sebastian needs to go outside." He patted his leg and sure enough the dog followed him outside. But not quick enough to miss Bobby's last "Uh huh" his eyes still narrowed, following the younger hunter.

"Are you sure we aren't going to get _any_ meat?" Dean asked frowning down at the contents of the cart. Mei patted his back in a mock sympathetic gesture. They had already checked out, much to Dean's disappointment and were heading back to the tiny car. "You sure this is gonna even fit?" Mei laughed and nodded as she opened only the top half of the trunk. She organized things as best as she could. She smiled handing Dean the last bag, which just happened to be the pie, and the car keys, so he could get in while she took the cart back to the store. They were near closing time and their cart was the last one left outside.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked as she started leaving. She didn't want to write it down, so she pointed to the cart then the store. Before he had the chance to protest she started a quick run and jumped onto the base of the cart, holding the handle and riding it for a bit before doing it again. Dean couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head as he watched her speed away. Such a child. She was glad they were going to let her cook for them. They had done a lot for her so far, she felt obligated to do something like this in return.

When she got to the doors, one of the employees was just about to lock the doors from the inside. She handed him the cart and started to make her way back to the car when someone grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth so she couldn't scream out. All she managed to do was a muffled shout, more so from surprise than fear. From the sound of the voice it was the man from before, the one that had asked if they had any change. "Don't fight me or I'll gut you." He put his knife into her line of sight and she stiffened, eyes widening. Was this seriously happening? He dragged her away as she fought not to squirm to get free.

When they were around the corner, away from the line of sight to her little car, he shoved her against the wall of the store. They were slowly walking toward the back end of the store. She could see the loading docks and some dumpsters. He gave them some distance, holding a hand out for her to give him her things and the other shaking slightly with the knife. "Your boyfriend was lying before. You do have cash. I saw. Give it here." He demanded, motioning back to the store. He must have been watching them from outside when she paid. She had used Bobby's money. Dean had insisted on using his card, but she had refused.

Mei was holding her hands up, her purse was slung on her back and she moved slowly to retrieve it. She wondered if the other men were still there, it didn't look like it, but she couldn't be sure. She had just about gotten her bag when she heard a shout from the parking lot. It was Dean, he was looking for her. "Mei!?" This startled her would-be robber and she took advantage kicking out at his hand. The knife flew out his hand, clattering to the ground, and he winced, shouting out in pain. The hard sole of her boot had hit the bone of his wrist. Dean's call coming out more worried this time. He had heard that. She took advantage of her attacker's stunned state to swiftly swing her body around giving her leg a good amount of momentum before slamming the full force of her foot into his chest. Knocking the wind out of him and sending him tumbling to the ground.

"What the hell?" Dean came from around the corner, he must have run because his voice had sounded farther way not long ago. Mei was frowning, looking utterly angry and panting. She huffed and started to stomp toward the hunter when he lunged himself passed her. His gun in hand, he had had it tucked in his waistline on his back. " _Ah, ah, ah_ , you might want to think twice about that." He said disapprovingly. Mei turned to see the man trying to reach out for his knife again, mouth gaping as he tried to regain the air in his lungs. She stomped back toward where the knife was and kicked it under a large dumpster nearby. Flipping the man off as she stalked passed Dean and toward the car. Letting out a frustrated shout when she was about half way there.

Mei was angry and didn't want to drive, she knew she was too emotional for that. So, she got into the passenger side, setting what hadn't fit in the back on her lap, the pie. Hadn't enough happened already? Why had this had to happen too? She didn't really blame the man, he was probably hungry or something. He had looked almost as scared as she had. He hadn't wanted to threaten her. Why he had, she didn't know, or really care right now.

She had been _really_ scared. She had thought that maybe he was one of those things that Sam and Dean claimed to hunt. They had mentioned that they just looked human sometimes. But it turned out to just be a man, wanting or needing money, for whatever reason. She was turning that fear into anger. Anger that there were _things_ out there, _real monsters_ , but there were still monsters being made because of circumstance or choice. Human monsters. The realization of the later made it seem so petty and it made her feel even more frustrated.

Dean was dumbfounded for a while before putting his gun away. The would-be assailant didn't look like he was getting up anytime soon. He was gasping for air and clutching his chest. Dean gave the scene an approving expression before following Mei to her little car. He wasn't sure what had happened, but it seemed Mei knew how to handle herself, even if just against humans.

She shot her hand out of the window towards him without looking when she heard him getting closer. She had grown to recognize the sound his walk made, the sound his jeans made, the scuffing of his boots on the ground in a rhythm only he could make. She had paid extra attention since she had met him and his brother. She was handing him the keys. He couldn't help but quirk a brow as he took them. "What the hell happened back there? Was he mugging you?" Mei nodded as he got into the driver's side. There was a moment of silence as Dean adjusted the seat without squashing the bags behind him, so he could fit behind the wheel. "What did you do to him?" He asked turning his body toward her where he sat, seriously curious. 'I kicked him.' Dean laughed a little, "Yeah, hard too, I'd say. He was still trying to breath when I left."

They were on the road and silent. Or they were until Dean broke the silence. "Sam was right, this thing is zippy." Mei couldn't help it, even though she tried to hold it back, but her lips turned up a little and she smiled. He glanced at her and smirked. That was better, he liked seeing her smile. She looked nice angry, attractive even. Kind of fierce. Dare he think it, sexy. He mentally shook himself. He would have to ask her more about what had happened when they got to Bobby's.

When they did get back to Bobby's they could see Sam playing with Sebastian outside near the Impala. Sam did a double take from where he was crouched, having noticed that Dean was the one driving. A mischievous grin replacing his surprise. Dean got out and was walking toward the back of the little vehicle when he warned his brother. "Shut it." Sam gave a small laugh and approached them, taking some of the things from the back of the car.

With the three of them it only took one trip to get everything inside. They put all the things on the kitchen counter. Sam began to empty the bags, curiously looking at the ingredients she had chosen. "Vegetable curry?" he asked. Mei smiled and nodded. Sam gave an approving smile and chuckled a little at Dean's disapproving huff. Just then Bobby walked in and gave a once over at what she had gotten. Frowning. "Where's the meat?" Dean threw his arms up at this and exclaimed. "Exactly!"

'I think you guy's will like it. I'll make some with the chicken that's in the fridge too.' She wrote down and began to wash her hands to prepare the food. "I'm a warrior, I need _beef._ " Dean complained, and she laughed ignoring his protest. "So, it looks like Mei knows a little something-something. About self-defense at least." Dean announced watching as she started to prepare the food, and she flinched a little, embarrassed. No one was supposed to know, so it was a kind of a reflex. Sam and Bobby raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"She almost got mugged at the supermarket. I don't know what happened. I didn't get to see it, but she knocked the wind out of the guy." Sam frowned at his brother. "And, where were you?" Dean looked defensive now. "I was by the car, she ran off to take the stupid cart back." Bobby was obviously getting annoyed with their bickering. "Hey, shut it Idjits. Mei?" He got closer to Mei a suspicious tone to his voice when he said her name. She had been in the middle of chopping cauliflower and shrunk away from their gazes. She put the knife down and signed hesitantly trying to explain as best as she could.

'I'm not supposed to let anyone know.' She looked guilty, she knew it, she could feel it. "Know what?" Bobby pressed without wavering. She grimaced. She was about to repeat herself, but Bobby cut her off. "Now girl, or I ain't lettin' you in this house." Her eyes grew wide at this. He looked angry. "What is she saying?" Sam asked, a little surprised and looking slightly suspicious himself. "She's saying she _ain't_ _allowed_ to say." Sam frowned at this, perplexed. Mei sighed, thinking hard on what she should do. Was it really that important to keep a secret now? It wasn't like she was in her home town, and her uncles weren't exactly here.

'I know how to fight. I've been training for as long as I can remember.' Bobby narrowed his eyes and Dean shoved him slightly with his elbow. His arms were crossed, and he was trying to look disapproving, but mostly he looked curious. "She's saying she's known how to fight this whole time. Her family's been training her whole life. Anything else we might wanna know that you've failed to tell us?" Mei was afraid they were going to throw her out. So far, they had been the only ones that she thought she could rely on to help her find her family. She felt like she was grasping at straws and she was nothing but butter fingers.

'I can make sound effects' She signed quickly, only half thinking about what she had been consciously keeping from them. Bobby narrowed his eyes even more, not quite understanding, but still suspicious. "Sound effects" in sign could translate to just "noise" in plain English. "You can make noise?" He wasn't sure what she meant. She nodded and tried thinking of something she could do that wouldn't freak them out. She was slightly panicked and was having a hard time trying to think of something. The hunters glanced at one another, as if asking for more of an explanation. "She can make noise?" Dean repeated, and Sam shrugged.

Bobby was getting impatient and was about to demand something when Mei thought of something and started to nervously bob her head trying to find her tempo. What she did was unexpected to everyone in the room, even her. She was embarrassed, it showed in her posture and expression, so she turned her gaze to a random spot on the kitchen floor, so she wouldn't have to see their faces and concentrate.

What did she do? She started to beatbox Michael Jackson's Billie jean, trying not to squirm in her nervousness. The men's jaws slowly dropped as they realized what she was doing, Bobby's eyebrow quirked so far, he hadn't known he was capable of it. Sam's face seemed to be spread to all directions, eyebrows up and jaw down mouth spread into a wide-open smile. Dean's eyebrows were also skyward, and he covered his mouth in surprise when she crab-scratched into another of Michael's songs, Beat It. She had started getting into it now and had brought her arms up moving her hands to where she needed them on her face to get the best effect.

"Woah, woah, woah. Okay, okay." Bobby interrupted waving his arms a bit to stop her from continuing, she had just finished the awesome guitar solo in Beat It. "That's not what I meant b-by askn' if you had anything else you might wanna tell us." Bobby was stammering a little, flustered trying to explain. Mei was looking at them, forlorn. She threw her voice toward the window and made it sound like the Impala's engine was being turned. "Son of a bitch!" Dean cried out running toward the door but stopped when the sound stopped. "What the…" he let his voice draw out as he turned to look at Mei. She gave him an impish but unsure smile.

"That was you?" Sam asked, he had been close behind his brother, ready to run after whoever was going to take their ride. Mei grimaced some more, scrunching up one side of her face, nodding. "T-that, that was not cool! Mei! That's my baby!" Dean half yelled, clutching his chest as if he were about to have a heart attack, and she flinched a little. She could tell he wasn't angry, but she was still scared about them being upset with her. "No, Dean." His little brother was correcting, his tone somewhat serious, but he had a smile. "That was awesome!" Sam laughed whole heartedly grasping Mei by the arms before pulling her into a hug. Which was unexpected and surprised her.

Bobby cleared his throat, getting their attention. His expression still serious. "I was _refferin_ ' to you being trained yer whole life. You tryin' to tell us _you don't know why_?" Sam looked down to Mei, she was squished against his chest. Her cheek pressed into his flannel button up. He cleared his throat too, wondering what the hell was wrong with him, and let her go. She brushed herself off a bit, straightening her clothes and shook her head. 'They never told me why, just that I would need it to protect myself.' She left out that they had said "protect herself from evil." It just seemed too weird to announce.

"Well, that's good." Bobby grunted. "Looks like I'll only have to teach you the basics of the lore. The boys can teach you the rest on the road." He grumbled getting the brother's attention. "Why does she need to learn the lore? And if we get the FBI off her tail then she can stay here, _with you_. Where it's _safe_." Dean protested narrowing his eyes. Sam didn't look very happy about it either.

"The two of us agreed on it earlier. If she's goin' with the both of you, _or stayin' here with me,_ it don't matter, she needs to know what's out there. She _wants_ to know. If she's anything like she seems, she'll find out _on her own_ anyhow. Better with our help and protection than not." Mei nodded giving a half shrug to the Winchesters, before turning back to chopping the vegetables. A silent sign that she agreed that Bobby was right. Even if they managed to leave her behind she would do her own thing without their help. Dean grumbled something she couldn't hear, and it was obvious that Sam was unhappy about it too.

In the end Sam sighed, walking to where Mei was working, and asked if she needed help with anything. She showed him how she wanted the carrots and they got to making to food. She was hungry, and she knew that they probably were too. In the end they had made vegetable curry, but not spicy. And a bit of grilled chicken curry, also not spicy. Mei and Sam had the vegetable curry while the other two mixed the chicken and vegetables. "It don't look pretty, but it's mighty tasty." Bobby admitted after a few bites. Mei signed 'Thank you' to then asked if he liked it spicy usually.

"Ain't particularly a regular with curry. I've had some Japanese dishes sure, but I can't say I've had much of this." Mei nodded understanding. 'I'm glad you like it.' Sam seemed to be enjoying his food as well but was frowning slightly. 'What's wrong with Sam?' She asked. Bobby chuckled a little. "Oh, he's just upset he hasn't learned sign language fast enough to get what yer saying yet." She smiled and rubbed the younger brother's arm giving him a look of 'Don't worry about it.' He gave a half smile in response. "I'll get it soon enough."

Dean's expression at the scene in front of him was somewhat lethargic. He wasn't amused. Were Mei and Sam flirting? What? Who cared if they were? Who was he to get between Mei and his brother? Who said they were _even really_ flirting? He gave himself a mental pshaw and cleared his throat to get Mei's attention. "So, that whole noise thing. What else can you do?" He held his fork out to her face nonchalantly, a seasoned cauliflower piece skewered on it. Mei's eyes somewhat crossed as she focused on the food he held near her face. She ate it, snatching it quickly with her mouth, holding up a finger as she chewed. Dean's eyes widened slightly not fully believing she had done that.

'Not noise, sound effects.' She wrote down and then thought a moment. Taking a piece of paper from the note book and holding it as if she were going to rip it in half. She pretended to do so, the she made sound making it seem as if she did. Then she held it out to them, pristine. "That's pretty cool." Sam said taking the paper and half-hazardly flipping it over to see both sides. She thought another moment and put her hands over her mouth, cupped. The sound of, all be it quieter than the real thing, a helicopter came. Dean's smile widened, and he couldn't help but do a half-assed impersonation of Arnold. "Get to da chopper!" Mei laughed and signed to him excitedly, without really thinking, 'That's what my friend says.' When she realized he didn't really understand, she was about to write it down, but Bobby was already translating for her.

"I think I might need to get to studying that book too." Dean said feeling a little awkward. "Can you imagine what you could do if you had a megaphone?" He added after they had sat in silence for a bit, eating. 'I would be like Michael Winslow, or Larvell Jones.' They all looked at her curiously, not knowing what or who she meant. "Who?" Sam asked. Mei looked at them agape with surprise that they hadn't seen Police Academy. 'Okay, are we doing anything after we eat?' Dean frowned thinking and shook his head. "Not really, just gotta make a call." Mei was nearly bouncing in her seat. 'Okay, can we watch a movie after that? I have it in my stuff.' Sam looked intrigued, Bobby just shrugged. "I don't see why not." He gruffed after swallowing another bite.

Michael Winslow had practically been her spirit animal in terms of inspiring her to do what she did. She was sure they would enjoy it, or she was sure Dean would. His movie references were almost constant, she was surprised that he hadn't seen this one. Mei couldn't help but finish her food and wash her plate with such a swiftness that left the men wondering what had been set on fire. She made her way toward the stairs and vaguely remembered fearing going up them earlier.

Michael Winslow had practically been her spirit animal in terms of inspiring her to do what she did. She was sure they would enjoy it, or she was sure Dean would. His movie references were almost constant, she was surprised that he hadn't seen this one. Mei couldn't help but finish her food faster and wash her plate with such a swiftness that left the men wondering what had been set on fire. She made her way toward the stairs and vaguely remembered fearing going up them earlier.

"Well, she sure is chipper now." Bobby turned back to the brothers after they had all stared as she disappeared from their line of sight, all of them noting the skip in her step. She was excited to show them what ever it was she was going to show them. Dean was the next one to finish, taking one of his cell from his pocket. His signal that he was going to make the call he had mentioned earlier. He wanted to call the police department that had been examining Mei's home. The officer in charge had given him his card.

"Yes, Hello, this is agent Ciccone with the FBI. Is this officer Mendez? Okay, thank you." Dean flipped over the officer's contact card as he waited to be connected. He was outside on Bobby's porch, his elbows propped as he leaned forward against the rail. "Hello? Yes, hi this is Ciccone from the FBI, we met at a crime scene. Mei Xinyi's home. Her family had gone missing. The ones that run Szechuan kitchen." He paused as he let the officer speak, he was confused. He asked him for an address, and he gave it to him. The officer chuckled and scoffed. "This is officer Paul Mendez correct? Yes, I have your contact information right here, you handed it to me… No, this isn't some kind of joke." He let the officer continue and turned to see who had just come out when he heard the door open. Sam silently asked him what was wrong, and Dean just shrugged as he got hung up on.

"He thought that was a prank. Mei's house and the restaurant her family run, he said says they've both been abandoned for years." Dean frowned at his phone as if trying to get answers from it. "But you were there three days ago." Sam pressed. Dean sighed, frustrated, he hadn't been expecting this. His mind was racing, trying to figure out what it could mean. He turned back to the railing and rested his forearms against it, his head in his hands, trying to think. There were so many things it could be. He kicked a rail and admitted, "I dunno man, he had been going on about her and how great the restaurant was when I met him and now he says he's never heard of her. or her family." He rubbed his scalp straitening up and looking at his younger brother. "Some weird shit is going on."


	10. Two Princes

Chapter 10

Two Princes

The Winchester brothers had stayed outside for while, to try to figure out what they would say to Mei. Her spirits had been higher than expected, and they had seen her when she was down. She had hope that they would find her family, but it seemed like the few threads that they had had were being pulled away.

"We need to get to California to see what the hell is happening. The cops don't know what to look for and I didn't get to investigate while I was there." Dean finally announced after he had paced the porch for a short while. Sam nodded.

"So, what are we going to tell her?" Dean didn't seem to know what to say. Sam thought a while and smiled a little "If they aren't investigating anymore we don't need to take her phone away or have Jody get them off the trail." His elder brother nodded at this but still didn't seem pleased in the slightest. "We still probably shouldn't let her use it. We need to figure out what the hell is going on first. We'll still get her a new one to use with us."

"Let's wait until we figure out what's going on before we tell her anything," Dean peered into the house through the window they were near, they could see Mei as she made her way to where the TV was, a DVD in hand. He wondered if Bobby even had a DVD player. They had watched TV here before but had never been in a situation where they wanted to watch something off a disk. They would usually use Sam's laptop for that. "Let's let her do her thing and we'll let her know what's going on when we actually have something to tell her."

Sam reluctantly nodded, he wasn't sure any time would be a good time to tell her bad news. He knew that she would be upset to find out that the police weren't going to be looking for her family anymore. The brothers, Bobby, and Mei herself were the only ones that they knew of that would be looking for them.

They had a big net to cast and little help outside of the resources they had available to them to get any information. If they didn't find anything at Mei's house. Sam shook his thoughts away. No. He didn't want to think that way. They would find something. He hoped they would.

They were both looking inside through the window, deep in thought when Mei noticed them from inside. She waved at them to come in, showing them the DVD that she had gotten. They couldn't quite see what it was from where they were. Sam tried to smile back and returned the wave, to show her that he had seen her.

Sam looked to his brother, noticing that he too had waved back. A somewhat strained smirk on his face. He could tell he wasn't comfortable with what they might have to tell her either. It was odd but at that moment Sam thought back to what Bobby had asked him earlier. If he were smitten with her. He wondered if he was, and now, with the look he saw in his brother's eyes, he wondered if Dean was too and it made him uncomfortable.

"Let's get inside and get this over with. I hope it's not a chick flick." Sam half scoffed half laughed at his brother's comment as they made their way back inside. Bobby was coming up from the basement, with what they assumed was a DVD player in his hands. At least they wouldn't have to try to watch it on Sam's laptop.

Bobby quirked a brow, having seen their expressions when he came into the room. "What's got your panties in a bunch?" He gruffly asked as he handed Mei the DVD player. She quickly went to work on connecting the device to the old beat up TV. "Huh? O-oh don't worry about it, we can talk about it after we watch the movie." Sam stammered a little reaching for case the movie they would be watching. It was obviously an older movie, with Police Academy in bold font printed on the top, above a lineup of characters that screamed comedy.

"Police Academy?" He read it out loud and showed it to his brother. Dean took it and looked slightly intrigued. Before he got the chance to flip it over to read the synopsis Mei seemingly came from out of nowhere and snatched it from his grasp. Giving him, or his brother, no time to react as she somewhat forcefully guided them to the couch to sit. "Okay, okay, okay." Dean half chuckled plopping himself near an armrest, Sam taking the other. Mei smiled to them both and hurried to pop in the DVD, having to navigate the menu from the player itself since Bobby had lost the remote.

As soon as it started playing she practically ran and hopped up onto the couch, like a sprinting gazelle. Tucking her legs up and half spinning midair so when she landed she would be facing the TV with her feet tucked in front of her between the Winchesters. "Somebody's excited." Dean muttered. Promptly and playfully shushed afterwards by Mei. This caused Sam to chuckle quietly, in turn Dean gave him a sarcastic mock laugh.

The rest of the movie was watched with this kind of atmosphere. Mei's head whipping back and forth to try to see the men's reactions to the movie, until she, like them got pulled into it. Distracted only when they noticed Mei's intense stare to gage their expressions. About halfway through she noted that Dean had taken a personal liking to Tackleberry and Mahoney, while Sam seemed to like Hightower. Dean had made a comment about Sam being like Hightower in Mei's Smart. It was Sam's turn to sarcastically laugh. It was obvious that Larvell Jones was Mei's favorite, and why. Even Bobby had seemed to take a liking to the movie.

Mei guessed that they didn't do this often, and she wondered why. Were people in peril so often they had no time to just enjoy each other's company? Towards the end of the movie Mei started to realize that she was too tired to try to see how they were reacting to anything. She hadn't realized how tired until she started nodding off. She was determined to stay with them though.

As the credits started to roll Dean checked his watch and saw that it was late. He and Sam still wanted to talk to Bobby about what they had found out. Bobby himself had stood up a while ago to let Sebastian outside. Sam was talking to a semi-conscious Mei about her favorite character and if that was where she had gotten the idea for her unusual talent. Dean took advantage that she was distracted and muttered something about needing to use the bathroom as an excuse to talk to Bobby outside.

"So, yer saying that they have no records of her or her family even existing in the town?" Bobby's gruff voice was baffled after Dean explained. "I don't know about the records. Those might have been harder to get rid of. We would have to see for ourselves. _What I am saying_ is that he had no recollection of even meeting _me_." He motioned to his face as if to say, _who could forget this mug?_ "There's either some weird mojo going on or I met a shifter, or something, I don't know. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out what and why." Bobby could see the frustration etched on the younger hunter's expression. Sebastian ran too them after doing whatever he had done in the yard, he was ready to get back inside. Bobby thought a moment. "What if he was lyin? We don't know how many people or things are involved in this." Dean sighed deeply. "We have no way of knowing unless we go and investigate." He sighed again, this time it turned into a yawn. He was tired. "So much for getting her home soon."

"I'll see what hunters there are around there to look for us before more evidence goes disappearing." Bobby grunted opening the door to let the dog in. Dean looked at him wondering why he hadn't thought of that. He remembered why, a lot of other hunters didn't trust him or his brother. They had nearly brought on the end of the world multiple times now. Sure, they saved it just as many, but they had usually been right in the middle of it when it all came down. It made sense that they were blamed for a lot of it. They seemed to trust Bobby though.

"Thanks Bobby." He said quietly as he followed the elder hunter through the door. Inside Mei and Sam were still talking about the movie. Mei scribbling groggily into her notebook, telling his younger brother who knew what. Sam was smiling at whatever it was, Dean was glad that Sam wasn't still wallowing about how his memories were locked behind a wall in his mind. He hoped that he would just forget about it and focus on helping Mei. Knowing Sam like he did though, he doubted it would stay that way.

Sam had been aware of Bobby and Dean speaking outside, and he knew why. He hoped he would be enough of a distraction to Mei to keep her from finding out what they were talking about. When they had come back in he waved to Dean to join them. "So, I was thinking." Sam started somewhat seriously. "We should get Mei a megaphone." He tried to keep his expression serious but cracked a little towards the end, giving away his poorly executed joke. Mei shoved his shoulder playfully shaking her head. 'I don't like doing this in front of people I don't know. They don't usually get why or how I can do it.' She wrote down after.

"I don't get how or why you can do it." Dean admitted sitting next to her again. Sam smiled and took a look at his watch. "Hey, we should get some sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow." He announced after stretching. Mei reached groggily for his arm to get a look at his watch too, it was nearly midnight now. She nodded and whistled for Sebastian to follow her upstairs. She was tired and was glad to have her puppy back with her. She was a little sad she would probably have to leave him behind with Bobby. So, she was going to get her doggy cuddles while she could. She reminded herself that Sam had said that they would be leaving early to get her a new cell phone. She wasn't sure how she got back into the room Bobby had offered her, but she managed to and changed back into her pajama's.

The bed was squeaky and a little uncomfortable, but her blanket and pillow were there, Bobby must have gotten her things out while they were at the grocers. She hadn't noticed if he had gotten up during the movie. She had nearly nodded off once or twice, the sound of the men chuckling had been what kept her conscious. She had gotten her second wind around the time the credits showed up and was just now feeling it wear off. Sebastian seemed glad to have her with him too. He excitedly licked her face before calming and settling beside her.

Dean had watched from his spot on the couch as Sam and Bobby discussed what they had earlier, whispering because they were not sure if Mei was going to come back downstairs for anything. Sam was the one doing most of the talking, Bobby still seemed bitter about the younger Winchester having tried to kill him not too long ago. The DVD case was near him on a table, he reached over and took it, realizing that she hadn't taken the disk out to put it back with her things. He stood up and groggily put the disk away. Bobby and Sam stopped talking when they saw he was doing something. "Just going to put this with her things, so she doesn't forget it." He half gestured to the movie, making his way to the stairs. He didn't notice but Bobby was narrowing his eyes at his back. Dean may not have noticed but Sam had.

"Are you thinking he's _smitten_ with her too." Sam asked sarcastically, Bobby didn't even look at him and walked toward the stairs to get to his own room to sleep as he grunted his all too familiar "Uh-huh." Sam stood there for a few minutes, mouth slightly agape. It hadn't been the response she was expecting. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. He had thought about it earlier. In the end he shook it off and quietly followed the other two hunters upstairs.

Dean had put her movie back on top of the pile of what she had, tucked away in the corner of her room. It was a bit of a mess since she had had to dig through it to find the film in the first place. It seemed she hadn't bothered to put it all back together. He had started to pick some of it up for her but got distracted by Sebastian, who was whining a little to get his attention. Dean went to him and tried to hush him to keep from waking Mei up. He reluctantly pets the dog and tried to cover his excited little eyes. "Go to sleep." He whispers somewhat agitated.

It was about this time that Sam peeked into the door and Sebastian noticed, hopping off the bed and trotting to the taller of the Winchesters. After pulling Mei's blanket higher up to cover her up properly Dean followed. Sam was walking with Sebastian further down the hallway to where they usually spent the night when they stayed. "What are you the dog whisperer?" Dean grunted when they sat on their beds, the dog sitting by Sam's feet waiting for attention. Dean was about to bend over to take off his shoes but stopped when he saw Sam's face.

"What?" he asked, Sam looked like he was thinking about something intently. "We should go." He said after a moment. "What?" Dean asked again, this time confused. "We should go. We need to figure out what we're doing and keep Mei out of it. She can't go with us…" He let his words that seemed sure turn into a plea. Dean was tired, but he hadn't had nearly enough to drink to pretend he hadn't heard. Worried and watching his younger brother intently, he was trying to understand what it was he wanted to do. "She can stay here with Bobby, they aren't looking for her anymore. She'll be safe here." He abruptly stood up and started to gather his things.

"Woah, woah, Sammy, wait." Dean stood up with him and tried get his brother to calm down. "What's going on? We told her we were going to help her out." Dean protested as quietly as he could manage. "And we will, while she's safe here." Sam was determined, picking up Dean's duffle and holding it out to him. Dean reluctantly took it and frowned. He hadn't been expecting this at all. "We agreed before even bringing her here that we were going to leave her here." Sam continued. "Yeah, but…" Dean tried to protest but Sam's expression was still somewhat pleading. He sighed and nodded motioning that he would follow. He followed his brother. "They aren't going to be happy about this. You sure you want to leave?" Dean asked as they got to the back door.

"Damn right they aren't gonna be happy." It was Bobby, he had been at the kitchen table, they hadn't noticed. Sebastian whined and sat by the Bobby's feet. Probably sensing the tension in the room. "Bobby, we," Sam started but the hunter raised his hand from the table to stop him, a beer in his other. "She ain't gonna be happy about it, and she won't want to stay next time you come round. Won't be as easy to ditch her if she's expecting it." He sighed, imagining what he would have to deal with when she woke up.

"I'll teach her what I can and get Jody up to speed on what's going on. But," Bobby emphasized but. "Yer taking her with you next time. I aint no baby sitter." He frowned at the two of them. "And she ain't no baby." He could see Sam begin to purse his lips the way he did when he started to get upset. "Remember that." He narrowed his eyes and motioned to the door. "Now git before she wakes up."

Dean was sure there was some kind of exchange that he must have missed. Sam had seemed unusually protective. He also seemed hurt by something, he just wasn't sure what it was. Bobby seemed to be in on it though and it kind of annoyed him. What had he missed?

He had missed Sam's expression when he had seen him leaning over Mei's bed, reading too much into the posture and what it meant. His brother hadn't missed how he tucked her in either. He was hurt at the thought that his older brother might have feelings for her. He wasn't quite sure how he felt himself, but the pain he had felt was clear.

"You sure about this?" Dean asked again as he unlocked the trunk to the Impala. Sam put his things in. "I'm not sure Dean, but if we don't leave her now we won't want to later. How many friends have we had that survived being around us? We promised we would get her home, keeping her alive is part of that." Dean sighed and put his own bag in. He hated to admit it, but his little brother had a point. "Alright Sammy, let's get out of here."

Meanwhile, Mei slept soundly. Having looked forward to spending more time with the brothers just before bed. Little did she know that she slept through them leaving. Her life had changed so much, and it had only been a week since she had woken up on Dean's bed. She was hopeful now though. They had saved her from dragons and taken her to what she assumed was the closest thing that resembled a home to them. She was so thankful to them and everything they had done for her. Things they hadn't had to. She wanted to tell them when she saw them again. In the morning.

Bobby on the other hand finished his beer and started to make his calls. Any hunters near or in California would have to do the investigating for them. If there was _anything_ left to investigate. He called the police station that had handled the investigation when Dean had been there. He found it was odd that the property was abandoned _and_ well-known. From what he was told, it seemed to be a popular spot for the homeless and teens that got into trouble. It was confusing since he had investigated the area himself online when the boys had first told him about it and there had been nothing at all like that.

But now, it was all online. Everything the officer had told him was there, plain as day. On a website that was created well toward the end of the 90's. It was even rumored to be haunted. That would be easy to explain why it needed to be investigated to any other hunter that had questions. It didn't answer the questions that they had though. How had this happened? Why? He peeked into the room where Mei was sleeping, Sebastian resuming his spot next to her on the bed. They weren't imagining that she was here. Or her dog. He had stashed her phone in one of his pockets, he took a chance and dialed one of the numbers. One of the only family contacts that she had.

"We're sorry; you have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this recording in error, please check the number and try your call again." He tried the other number with the same results. How was he going to explain this to her when she woke up?

He wasn't sure and let out an agitated sigh. He would have to try to explain this to Jody when she came in the morning too. He wondered if he should give the phone back to Mei, not that she needed it with him being able to understand her sign. He decided not to. She would try to contact the boys and those two already had enough between the two of them to work out. He would have to lie to her he wasn't sure if it was really his place to tell her what was going on. Tell her the men had to leave, to an emergency.

Sometimes, okay most of the time, manipulation was necessary in their line of work. It wasn't ideal, but it would give her time to learn what she needed to. He didn't know how fast she would absorb it but it was quite a bit to cover and who knew how long it would be before the brothers came back. It would also give the Winchester's time to figure out what exactly they were going to do with her. Her family had disappeared in the wind. The last trace of them, from the sound of it, being Mei, her phone, and her memories of them.

Bobby was downstairs in the basement, finding a spot to put her phone away. If he was lucky Jody would get here before Mei woke up, so he would only have to lie to one of them. He signed again sitting at his workbench. The photo they had all taken a few years ago to his right. The brothers, Castiel, Himself when he had been in that damned wheelchair, Jo and Ellen. His heart ached at the memory. It was back when they were going to face Lucifer himself, Sam destined to be the devil's vessel.

Mei kind of reminded him of Jo. She was young and had so much ahead of her. He hadn't known her for very long, hardly a minute. But, from what he had seen she seemed to have a good heart. She was addicted to seeing smiles and tried what she could to keep them around her. She seemed to get anxious when they weren't there. She hadn't been hardened by what it meant to be a hunter yet. He was going to be the one responsible for introducing her to what could be considered the beginner's course of hunting.

Bobby wasn't given any more time to ponder it, it seemed Sebastian had gotten out of bed again and was scratching at the door to the basement. The elder hunter grunted getting up from his work stool and made his way to bed. Sebastian close behind him. "What would you do? Huh mut?" He knew he wouldn't get a reply but asked anyways.

While Bobby lead her dog back to her, Mei dreamed. She was somewhere strange, it was cold and dark. She could see her breath as it came out of her mouth. There was a solitary street lamp illuminating an area before her. She rubbed her arms, trying to get warmth where she could. She couldn't help but approach the light, it was the only beacon for as far as she could see. It wasn't until she was near it that she heard and saw something that sent her running in the opposite direction.

A small illuminated window. One she could never forget, she had decorated it as a child. Her makeshift mosaic made of a multicolor of tissue and hodgepodge. She had thought it was a dreadful work of art now that she was older and was more coordinated. She didn't care now, just as her uncles hadn't when she had offered to redo it. It was familiar. It was family. It was home! She thought as she felt her legs in her dream pump fruitlessly.

It was the back window of the RV and it was getting further away. She was crying out to it, reaching. She could have sworn she saw the curtain drawback and a familiar head peek through, bobbing as it moved further away. It just made her heart hurt more. They were there! Just out of reach! Why couldn't they see her? Didn't they love her anymore? Why had they left? She knew she was sobbing, and she could feel the familiar burn of tears in her eyes.

The window was getting smaller in the distance and now she was alone, running in the dark. Not even the lamp from before anywhere in sight. She didn't want to give up but the pain her heart was nearly choking her. She fell to her knees and tried to get up again, ran a few more paces before falling again, this time the world swallowing her as she continued to fall into seeming nothingness. There was a rush of something, she couldn't quite explain, something cold and empty seeming to pass through her very being.

"Mei Mei" it was a cold soft voice, like ice it stabbed her chest. There had been nothing threatening about how her name had been said but all the same she felt an unexplainable fear. "Mei Mei" it called again, like a whisper in her ear but far away. "Where are you?" It asked, and Mei heard her inner voice, the one she usually heard in her thoughts, the only part of her that she felt could speak, answer. "I don't know." "You don't know?" It seemed interested that there was an answer. Like it had been asking before but had had no reply before.

"Why don't you know where you are?" it hissed. "It's dark." She replied noticing she no longer felt like she was falling, she wasn't sure when that had happened. She felt vulnerable, like an unknown predator was stalking her. "Why is it dark?" it pressed, this time sounding more eager and making her heart pound in her chest. "I ran away from the light. I was trying to get home." She couldn't seem to stop her mind from answering. "Run away? Why are you running away?" it asked, she could feel it's smile in its words. It was pleased for some reason and it made her breath come quicker. It sounded closer. She couldn't see anything. "Scared," was all her thoughts could manage.

"Scared… scared…. scared…" it chanted, and continued to chant. Seeming to get closer with each word as if it were using the word like a rope to climb or crawl its way toward her. There was a glee, there that nearly made her heart burst out of her chest. It was ecstatic that she was scared. "What do you want?!" She finally burst, and it paused it's chanting to complete silence.

She tried to look around her and could hear something moving around… something scraping against a surface she couldn't feel or see. It sounded like claws and feet. Whatever it was, it wasn't human, she was sure of that. "What do you want?!" She tried again, her inner voice quivering as she sobbed. The scraping and scampering grew more erratic at this. There were more of them now… whatever they were. It sounded as if they were clawing, trying to get in. "No." She heard a different voice. This one familiar, stern. It was her uncle Ai. She felt some of the tenseness in her chest melt, searching for him. "Mei Mei, where are you?" The icy voice tried to sooth with strained effort. "No." It was uncle Ai again, his word more forceful than before. A demand.

"Mei Mei." The voice hissed as if stretched, as if through a clenched and gleeful smile. "What do you want!? Leave me alone! Where is my family?!" "We have your family, Mei Mei." It responded. "You do? Where? Why did you take them?" Her inner voice demanded, hopeful. "Princess no!" her uncle shouted and there was a bright light before her, blinding her and making whatever had been coaxing her to scream and vanish. She blinked and tried to shade her eyes with her arm. When her eyes regained focus she could see her uncle before her. He was glowing?

"They did not take us Mei." He looked stressed, the lines heavy on his face, more than his age should have allowed. "Uncle Ai!" She leaped to her feet and embraced him tightly. "I know princess, I am sorry. We had no time to explain. We have no time, even now." He reluctantly pulled her away. "Where are your protectors?" Mei gaped not sure what he meant. "The hunters. The brothers. Why are they not here with you?" She didn't know how to respond. "Go to them, we can no longer…" he paused tensing, focusing on something to his left. "Mei Mei." It was the voice, it was back, far away again but back.

"What do you want?!" She was angry now. "No Mei!" her uncle shouted. "Do not acknowledge them! GACK" He managed to say and when she looked up to see why he had made such an odd noise she cried out. There was a black and blood-soaked arm protruding from his chest. It was a clawed, thorny and grotesque arm. She covered her mouth as her heart fell to the floor, her uncles mouth was gaping and reaching for her, pleading something, something she couldn't hear. It slowly pulled itself back and out of his back, letting his body fall to the floor, his outstretched hand landing on her foot. The light he had been emitting dimming until complete darkness surrounded her again.

"We want you Mei Mei!" It was a loud shout right into her face so forceful and loud it made her bolt up from her sleep clenching her chest to make sure it wouldn't dislodge itself from her ribs. Tears running down her face in puddles.

 **Chapter Song: Two Princes – Spin Doctors**


	11. So I Dub Thee

Chapter 11

So I Dub Thee

Part: 1

Mei couldn't suppress the scream that came from her. The shrill of it wracking her body from the fear and fury she was feeling. Making her body shake as she clutched at her blankets trying to expel what she was feeling as her emotions throbbed through her. She knew right away where she was, as soon as she opened her eyes. She was still in Bobby's home and she was embarrassed for scene she was making. She couldn't seem to stop though. Everything had felt so real. She hoped nobody had heard her but doubted it as she wept into her hands.

It was when a woman burst into the room, gun in hand looking for an assailant that wasn't there that she was startled out of it. Mei couldn't help but scream in surprise this time. The woman was in a sheriff's uniform, Bobby coming in soon after, a shotgun handy. "Mei! W-what happened?!" He shouted, afraid something had happened. 'It's okay, it was just a dream.' She signed. Bobby sighed placing a hand on the woman to get her to put her guard down. "She says it was just a dream. Mei, this is Jody. The sheriff. Jody, this is Mei, we're tryin' to help her find her family." Jody holstered her weapon and held a hand out to greet her. Mei cautiously took it.

"That must have been some nightmare, it sounded like someone was killing you." Jody half smiled trying to get Mei to relax. "Bobby's told me a bit about you and what's going on. I'll do what I can to help." Mei nodded thankfully. Bobby had already explained to Jody what was _really_ going on. She hadn't liked the position it put her in, having to lie to the young, and obviously distressed, woman in front of her.

"Well I gotta get back to the station and make some calls to California, I'll keep you guys up to date on what's going on. Tell the boys I say hi when you see them again." She waved to Bobby, leaving the room and a confused Mei. Weren't Sam and Dean here? Maybe she was talking about someone else. She couldn't help but remember her dream, what her uncle had said. Where were her protectors? The hunters. The brothers.

She quickly got out of bed and signed to Bobby before he left the room too. 'Where are Sam and Dean?' She was scared that if they were gone her dream was something that really happened. It didn't seem as farfetched as it would have a week before. "Sorry Mei, they had an emergency to get to. Another case out of state." He frowned, quirking a brow at her worried expression. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Mei quickly explained her dream, trying not to leave anything out but frantic, feeling confident that it meant something. Bobby didn't seem so sure though. "I think you're readin' too much into it. It was just a dream. You'll be fine Mei, the boys ought to be back in a few days, and you'll go find your family. Don't worry. In the meantime, you got a lot to learn." Mei did not seem convinced. "I'll help get you some protection if it makes you feel better, the same they've got. So, it'll be like they're here." He put his hand on her shoulder and tried to be reassuring. Mei had to think a moment, but slowly nodded realizing she didn't really have much of a choice. 'Did the sheriff take my phone already?' She knew she probably had but was hopeful that she would be able to at least text them and ask them why they hadn't taken her with them.

"Yeah, sorry, she said she had a busy schedule. She had it with her when she left." Mei sighed, she knew that she probably wouldn't be able to convince Bobby to call them for her, and he didn't look like the type to let her use his cell, if he even had a cell to text. She was a mixture of emotions, still frazzled from the nightmare she had had and angry that they had left her anyways even after having made plans. She didn't feel right asking for a new cell phone now, Sam had been the one to promise it to her. She frowned sitting back on her bed. They should have just woken her up, so she could go with them. Maybe they felt bad taking her when it wasn't anything to do with her family?

'What's this protection that you were talking about earlier?' She signed to Bobby after she had gotten dressed. They were both in the kitchen, serving themselves leftovers from the night before. "Well, the boy's got tattoos _and_ sigils etched into their ribs." Mei nearly dropped the spoon she had been serving herself with eyes wide, not believing what Bobby had just said. The Tattoos made some sense, but they got their ribs engraved? _What?!_

Bobby noticed her frightened look and continued, "But we got some talismans that work just as well. Temporary and easier to take off but I don't know if it's what we're gonna need. You may need a tattoo or two." Mei reluctantly nodded. 'What about my ribs? How is that even done? It sounds painful.' Bobby took his plate and sat at the table after the microwave had finished heating it up. "We'll have to wait for the boys to get back for that answer. Dean said it only burned for a few seconds." Mei quirked a brow, that didn't sound right or possible. Her food was warmed up now too, and she sat next to Bobby noticing he didn't get any chicken this time around. She couldn't help but smile.

'Good huh?' Bobby grunted, unamused at her amusement. 'What are the tattoos for anyway? What kind of protection is it?' She asked between a bite. "Well one I'm sure you'll end up getting, is an anti-possession mark, it'll keep the demons out. I can't think of anything else now, don't know what's causing all of this, you bein here, but it'll be good to keep yer mind open to getting some more ink for whatever protection you might need."

'Why can't I just wear the talismans?' She asked not too sure about how she felt about getting a permanent tattoo. "They're easy to rip off and it aint good to head out with the Winchester's without proper protection." Mei wondered if they really encountered demons that often.

"You wanna go and get your tattoo done once we finish eatin?" Mei grimaced but figured it would have to be done eventually anyways. Any hope of finding her family quickly was slipping away. She thought about her uncle Ai, preying to whatever deity that might be listening that it had only been a dream, and that they were all okay. She frowned but nodded to Bobby, trying to eat slowly to prepare herself mentally for what she would have to do. For her family, a few tattoos didn't seem too bad of a bargain. 'We're taking my car though.' She signed, and it was Bobby's turn to grimace.

Somewhere many miles East of Sioux Falls the Winchesters had stopped from driving at some point in the night. Both having been too tired to go any further than they had finding a hotel to finally get some sleep. They still woke up rather early for having gone to bed mere hours earlier. Dean was out right now, getting them some grub. Sam trying to catch up on the news he had missed for the year he couldn't remember.

They hadn't really said a word to each other, other than what they needed to. Nothing regarding Mei or Sam's condition. Sam had been tired too when he had made the decision to leave, he felt guilty about how they left her but did not doubt that they had made the right choice. Bobby would take good care of her and teach her what she needed to know. He was a good mentor to hunters. Not that he wanted Mei to be a hunter, but it seemed the world wasn't giving her or them much choice in the matter.

"What are you watching?" Dean asked coming back from his food run. Sam let him know he was just trying to catch up, only half noticing that the news had been about Mel Gibson. Dean made a comment about how he was probably possessed. It was when he said that he had just gotten off of the phone with Bobby that Sam tensed somewhat.

"Oh, yeah? You got anything else on this, uh, 'mother of all' thing?" he asked, still trying not to breach the topic of the small Asian woman they had left with the older hunter. "Uh, no, nothing solid. He says it's quiet." Just then Sam's phone goes off, having heard it go off so often for Mei he was sure it would be her, asking them where they were and why they had lied to her. "Quiet, like quiet or quiet like too quiet?" Sam was a little surprised to find that the text hadn't been from Mei.

"When is it ever just quiet? Is that Mei? She must be pissed." Sam doesn't really respond but quirks his head a little not sure what the message meant. Dean looks. "What? What are these, coordinates? Who's it from?" Sam goes to his computer and begins to look up what he also assumes are coordinates. "I have no idea. What did Bobby say about Mei, is she mad?" He asked not looking up at his older brother. "Nah, she was still sleeping when I got off the phone with Bobby, Jody was there though. She says hi by the way. Well?" Dean presses his younger brother to tell him what he found.

"Uh, Bristol, Rhode Island, where three women disappeared in the last week. Apparently, the, uh, victims seemed to vanish into thin air." They didn't have to say that it sounded similar to Mei's situation. Sam tried calling the number. "Could be something. Think it has something to do with what's going on with Mei? Who's the text from?" Dean asked what they had both been thinking out loud.

Sam hung up his phone. "I don't know. It just kept ringing." Dean made a face. "What's that about?"

"Could be another hunter looking for backup, throwing us a case? Who knows how many hunters I met, working with the Campbells, you know? But I think we should go." Sam was hopeful that this had something to do with Mei's case. Even if it wasn't he would be glad to do something as opposed to the nonexistent plan they had to help her. "Woah, wait. We're just gonna drop everything?" Dean protested not quite on the same page as his younger brother.

"Dude, two minutes ago, you weren't doing anything. This might have something to do with Mei." He said the last part, not too sure. They had thought that the last case had to do with Mei too, but it had turned out to just be dragons. "You got mysterious coordinates from a mysterious Mr. X, leading to a mysterious town? That doesn't throw up any red flags to you?" Dean wasn't believing his brother was so gullible. Even if it had to do with Mei, why would they be sent to a place by text, and how would they even know how to contact them?

"I don't know. Maybe. But that doesn't mean we can just ignore a bunch of missing girls. We didn't ignore Mei. Right?" Sam insisted, Dean sighed. "Okay. But for the record, _Mei is hard to ignore_." He narrowed his eyes at this brother. "We'll check it out. But if things get squirrelly, we dump out, okay?"

"Yeah." Sam complied.

Back in Sioux Falls Mei wasn't sure if she or Bobby was more nervous. She was sure she was, Bobby was probably just grumpy about having to get into such a silly looking car and go into town with it. "Make sure you bring yer I.D. You don't really look yer age, so you'll probably get carded." Mei nodded going back upstairs to get ready. Her hair had still been in a messy bun from the night before, she hadn't fixed her hair just yet.

"What's with the buns on yer head?" Bobby asked grumpily after she had fixed her trademark hair. 'I like it, keeps it out of my face.' Bobby frowned not really understanding. "Why don't you just cut it?" Mei gave him a look as if he spoke pure blasphemy. 'I'm going to pretend that you didn't just say that.' She gave him an expression of pure exaggeration. He couldn't help but chuckle a little. " _Alright princess_." He said sarcastically but Mei couldn't help but flinch and feel her heart ache at the familiar endearment. She tried to hide it. If Bobby noticed, he didn't say anything, and she was glad.

Not long after they were zipping along the streets of Sioux Falls, following Bobby's directions to where the tattoo parlor was. She was super nervous. These would be her first tattoo. She had thought about getting one before but found that she was too indecisive to pick something she would want to look at for the rest of her life. At least this one would have a purpose. She told herself. But it didn't help her nerves.

On the way Bobby did noticed that she was tense. And tried to think of a way to make her feel more comfortable with it. "Look, it don't have to be like the boy's. You can put it where you want how you want, as long as the symbol is clear." Mei's mouth thinned as she tried thinking now of how she would want it, if she even remembered seeing any tattoos on the men since she had met them. How it looked wasn't the issue, it was an interesting design she just hadn't planned on having to get a tattoo this morning. Hell, it was still _morning_ and they were _already on their way to get it_. It was more than a little overwhelming.

When they parked near the parlor, Mei looked to see what else was in the area to help her brainstorm what she would want. He had told her it wasn't too much of a rush, having given her a talisman in the meantime. _Just in case_. It wasn't too reassuring. She wondered if demons were so common. Who among the people just walking on the streets could be one. Anyone. Anyone could be anything. Because there weren't just demons there were all sorts of other monsters too. It frightened her to think of it but the idea of having to go through any number of them to find her family gave her courage. Otherwise she would probably just be a hermit.

'Would it be okay if I worked on an idea before we go in? That looks promising.' She pointed to a small café across the street. Bobby didn't seem so sure, he looked down at himself then to her. She could tell he didn't feel comfortable going in. 'It's just so I can draw at the table.' She then showed him the notebook she had brought with her. He sighed, "I 'spose I shoulda told you before we left. Coulda just dun it in the kitchen." He grumbled staring.

Inside it looked like a place hipsters would love to go and she understood why Bobby might feel uncomfortable. He seemed more like a dinner going type. From the impression she had gotten from him, he didn't seem very social either and she was sure that played a bigger part. Luckily the spot wasn't too full, only two other people there, one on a laptop and the other reading a newspaper, sipping coffee and not even acknowledging that they had walked in.

As soon as she sat down, Mei pulled out the piece of paper Bobby had given her, of the image she would have to have permanently on her skin, from her pocket. She got to work figuring out how she would want it. She thought a moment, not wanting to do anything that would make it not work. 'What exactly can I do? I don't want it to not work.' She signed to Bobby. He had been eyeballing the menu above the baristas before she had gotten his attention. "Anything, as long as this," he pointed to the image, "is still in there somewhere, exactly like this. You can put it in a heart or star, whatever. Just keep this just the way it is." She nodded understanding, subconsciously unaware that she had started to play with the pen in her hand as she thought.

"You want something from the menu? The barista's givin' me a weird look." Mei glanced and saw that he was right, and that they had pastries along with many kinds of coffee. 'A cake pop sounds yummy.' She knew it was probably one of the cheapest things on the menu. "Alright, I'll get a cup of coffee." Bobby stood up and went to place their order.

She wasn't sure how long they spent in there, Bobby had downed two cups of coffee and she had gotten through two cake pops, sharing a third with him when he asked if it was any good. In the end Bobby had joined in with the brainstorming and she appreciated it. He was very knowledgeable, more so than she had first thought, which was already a lot. 'I'm sorry, it's just, I'm going to have this on me for the rest of my life, right?' She had tried to apologize for the amount of time it was taking for her to decide. If she was going to have to get this, she might as well make it hers. Bobby didn't have to explain that he understood. "You want something you'll be able to go home with." He stated as he nodded. She nodded as well, glad that he understood.

Bobby wasn't entirely sure if she would ever really be able to go home. He had a house sure, but it wasn't really a home. Not since his wife had died. The only time it felt like home, was when the Winchester's were there. Otherwise it was just a place he worked and slept. He couldn't help but feel they were family. And only family could make a house a home. He wasn't sure if Mei, made his house feel like a home yet. He honestly didn't want to get attached to her, she would more than likely leave. Sebastian on the other hand had already barked his way into his heart. Damned mut. He thought sometimes when he realized he enjoyed the dog's company and would miss him if he left.

Mei had already gone through about six sketches of what she might want. It was hard though, her main problem with the whole thing was she wanted to find a job after all of this. Was she wrong for planning things even after she found her family. It looked like a _pentagram_ , even if it did provide protection not everyone would understand that.

She was watching the parlor across the street, they were putting up a new sign. 'Black light Tattoos now available' her eyes widened, and she signed quickly to Bobby who was flipping through rough sketches of what she had done. 'Would that work with this?' He looked across the street, nodding. "I don't see why not, we've done devil's traps the same way." Mei was excited now, she wouldn't have to worry about how it would affect her finding work this way. This made things much easier.

In the end she decided to have fun with it. She put the symbol just as it was but small as if a charm on a bracelet. It was what she originally thought of when she thought of what she would want in a tattoo, a simple jewelry tattoo. She would ask them to make the anti-possession symbol with black light ink. If she needed any other symbols in the future as Bobby said, they would just be charms on the bracelet. This one was special though. It would be her first. When she was done, Bobby looked at it and nodded his approval. "Pretty, now let's get this on you." he grunted and stood up to lead her to the parlor.

The artist inside, Kevin, was very polite and understanding that Bobby was her translator. She explained what she wanted, and he was very accommodating. It was a little hard for her to sign while it was being done though so Bobby had to be the one to converse and answer some questions. There was nothing unusual about the questions, they were just to try to be polite and show interest in the client. Mei knew this from a friend, who had gone through beauty school. Mei flinched visibly now and again, the beginning of the procedure did hurt a little, but it wasn't too bad after Kevin got into his flow.

Once it was done with the regular ink he turned off the lights and prepared the black light for the charm that was the anti-possession symbol. "Alright, this has to be _exactly the same_." Bobby held the paper out to Kevin who took it and responded. "Sure thing. Family crest, right?" "Guess you could say that." The elder hunter grunted and took a seat, watching closely as the man did his work.

'Why do they wrap it in plastic?' Mei asked wincing a little as she signed, it didn't hurt so much as sting. "It's to keep it from getting infected." Mei grimaced a little at his response, she guessed that did make sense, since it had been a needle puncturing her repeatedly. She liked the way it had turned out though. It looked delicate and the way Kevin had made the bracelet and charm was beautiful. It looked real. Weighted even, a small pearl hanging from a thin leather strap decorated with a few spacers and beads. The symbol seeming to hang from the pearl. The symbol was a bright pink right now, but she knew that when it healed it would be practically invisible.

"That was actually a good idea. Some demons have been known to burn off the symbol to try to force their way in. Once that's all healed up, they won't even know it's there." Bobby commented as they made their way back to her smart. She nodded, not having known demons could do that. She had so many questions regarding everything they faced. Bobby was going to start teaching her though, so she knew she would get them answered. It wasn't like she had anyone else to go to right now. _Since they had left without her_. The thought alone got on her nerves.

'Do you want to drive it?' She asked as they got closer, Bobby frowned and thought for a few seconds before shrugging. "Sure, why not. Dean said it was surprisingly maneuverable." Mei laughed and nodded, tossing him the keys and getting into the passenger's side.

Mei spent the next few days studying under Bobby. Learning things she had a hard time believing but tried absorbing it anyways. He even tried teaching her how to use a gun, it made her uncomfortable and she did everything to try to avoid it annoying Bobby to no end. "Look, it ain't gonna bite you and the sooner you learn how to use it the safer you'll feel handling one." Mei would reluctantly nod of course and try again.

'Why can't I just have throwing knives or something?' She would sign afterward, and the elder hunter would just sigh. "You're a good shot, far as I can see. Why don't you like guns?" 'Too loud.' She answered honestly. "Yeah, but you'll have to get used to it if your goin' with the Winchesters. They take guns where ever they go, and are more likely to use them. _Unlike_ _throwing knives_." ' _I_ could be the one that uses throwing knives.' Her eyes wide and exaggerating "I" to emphasize.

It took about three days before he finally got tired of her asking if she could just use knives before he finally let her get her hands on a pouchful of them. "Alright I do not know what your family has taught you, but knives are tricky if you can't gauge the…" She threw one without warning at the target he had set up in his yard meeting it dead center. "… weight right. Hot damn. Can you do that with any knife?" She shrugged holding her hand out to see. Bobby reluctantly took out a knife from his belt and handed it to her.

The hilt was heavier than the one she had just thrown, she gently tossed it to get a feel for the amount of spin she would have to put into it, catching and tossing it once more before flinging it from the blade toward the target. It wasn't dead center, but it was a few inches to the right of where the other one was still propped. Bobby just narrowed his eyes at her, "You know what yer doin' don't you? When did you say they started teachin' you?" 'I didn't. I don't remember when they started teaching me, I was too young.' Bobby frowned. "That seems harsh, and they never said why?" he asked as he walked with her to retrieve the knives.

'They said it was to protect myself. I got in trouble once, in school, for kicking a bully. They told me to never tell anyone afterwards.' Bobby chuckled a little. She had told him a few stories over the time she had spent with the elder hunter. She had grown to like him and his attitude toward the unnecessary. He was simple, and she liked it, maybe she was stretching because she missed them so much, but he reminded her of her family. She found herself telling him things she hadn't told anyone else, not even her closest friends. She was trusting him, and the Winchesters, even though they weren't here, with her life, and the life of her family.

Her studies with him had made her realize there was probably a lot they didn't take as weird. So, she tried not to keep anything from him. The more he knew the more he could hopefully help. It had taken her some time to get to this point though, and a few arguments about silly things just cause of frustration. Like the guns and how she refused to fight him in hand to hand. She was still uncomfortable showing anyone everything she could do, it was a hard habit to break. Telling him though, felt completely different for some reason.

'I think they knew that this was going to happen Bobby.' She admitted a few days later. "What makes you say that?" he asked taking a book out of a pile. He didn't sound surprised, she got the idea he may have thought the same thing. 'When I told you that they said that they taught me everything to protect myself, they would tell me it was from evil.' Bobby stared at her for a moment, watching her even after she had stopped signing. "Huh. What else did they teach you then? Besides how to fight. Anything look familiar?" he nodded toward the book she had in front of her. She shook her head. 'Most of it was herbal medicine and some weird signs with my hands. Chanting, I can't do that, but they said it was okay as long as I remembered it.' This seemed to interest him, "Show me some of them." He watched as she did, she felt awkward doing them, thinking the words they had taught her that coincided with the signs as she did, but not committedly.

Bobby's eyes were narrowed then widened as if he realized something, "That looks like Kuji Kiri." He had a bit of a grin on his face. Mei just looked confused. "It-it's a long-lost tradition handed down by _monks_ , in Japan." 'But my uncles are from China, they never said they were monks either.' Mei, contradicted and Bobby's smile just widened more. "Maybe that's why it's been lost for hundreds of years, the ones that were supposed to hand down this knowledge in Japan, they left for China." Mei was still confused, her uncles never once, as far as she could remember, talk about coming from Japan. "Think about it, this is a technique that's been lost for many, _many_ , generations. But it was still being handed down, along with other traditions, Chinese traditions, to the next generations. To your uncles. And they taught you."

Mei quirked a brow, was it odd that it made sense? After all these years all the weird things they had put her though. Things she just _had_ to learn. "Mei I'm startin' to think your uncles were monks." 'That makes sense, but does that make me a monk too?' She asked unsure, she always imagined monks as bald old men in robes with no shoes and no worldly positions. She guessed her uncles were monk like, but they didn't fit the description. Not in her mind. She couldn't not see them as family, and just that.

Bobby abruptly stood up in search of a book somewhere she couldn't see. He was mumbling to himself as if thinking out loud. Then it hit her, if her uncles had any supernatural abilities, could it have really been her uncle Ai in her nightmare? She shot up and ran towards Bobby, wanting to tell him what she thought. She explained her thoughts and he looked regretful. "I suppose… It doesn't mean it was real though. We've heard of astral projection, but I've never heard of someone dyin' from it."

Mei's worry lessened a little. 'Do you think they were trying to contact me?' "From the sound of it, they were tryin' to _protect_ you from whatever was after you." He narrowed his eyes. "You haven't had another nightmare since?" She shook her head. "I think that might have something to do with it." He nodded to her new tattoo. It looked like it was nearly healed, the anti-possession symbol not as pink as it used to be. Had it really been the tattoo? Does that mean the thing in the dream was a demon? Her heart sank a little, it had been the worst thing she had ever seen. If it was a demon, did that mean that demons were after her and her family?

 **Supernatural Season 6 Episode 13: Unforgiven**


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